UBRMN  B.C. 


J.  H.  L.  EAGER 


The  Science  of  Selection 


A  Tale  of  Woman's  Emancipation 


BY 
/ 


JAMES  HENRY  LOVELL  EAGER 


THE  HEALTH-CULTURE  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  PASSAIC.  N.  J. 

L.    N.   FOWLER   &   CO. 
LUDGATE  CIRCUS,  LONDON,  ENGLAND 


COPYRIGHT,  1910 

THE   HEALTH-CULTURE   CO. 


Entered  at  Stationer's  Hall,  London,  England. 


DEDICATION. 

This  work  is  lovingly  dedicated  to  the  sacred 
memory  of  my  deceased  mother,  whose  love  for, 
and  devotion  to,  her  posthumous  son  was  ever 
tenderly  associated  with  her  widowhood  bereave 
ment. 


PREFACE. 

If  the  science  of  Selection  serves  to  exemplify  the 
possibility  of  more  happiness  in  marriage,  this  work 
will  not  have  been  done  in  vain.  The  joining  in 
marriage  of  intelligent  beings,  animated  by 
a  true  and  pure  love,  must  undoubtedly  bring  into 
the  world,  under  happy  conditions,  a  progeny  that 
combines  more  of  the  essential  elements  of  manhood 
and  womanhood  than  is  now  born  to  woman  in  a 
hit  or  miss  selection  of  a  mate. 

The  joining  in  marriage  of  two  persons,  both  of 
whom  are  imbued  with  the  high  aspirations  of  civil 
ization,  gives  promise  of  a  higher  plane  of  manhood 
than  now  obtains. 

The  contented  mind  of  a  happy  mother  goes  far 
to  eliminate  the  possible  peevish  discontent  of  a 
fretful  temperament  in  childhood. 

A  happy,  contented  mind  is  a  more  precious  boon 
to  confer  on  posterity  than  are  riches. 

Marriage  is  admittedly  the  most  important  event 


v!  PREFACE. 

in  the  career  of  any  man  or  woman.  It  involves 
more  of  happiness  or  of  distress  to  themselves  than 
anything  that  had  previously  occurred  to  them  in 
life,  to  say  nothing  of  their  greater  responsibility 
in  transmitting  a  curse  upon  posterity,  therefore 
it  should  be  a  subject  of  more  concern  than  any 
thing  else. 

In  submitting  this  work  to  the  public,  I  do  so  in 
the  hope  that  it  may  be  received  in  the  same  kind 
spirit  with  which  it  leaves  my  hand  and  with  the 
further  hope  that  it  may  lead  to  a  higher  civilization. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


Sick  men  and  women  their  diseases  pass  down, 

Prom  parentage  humble  and  Royalties  crown; 

'Twere  far  less  a  sin  they  did  each  other  drown, 

Than  to  wed  and  beget  beneath  Nature's  frown. 


CHAPTER  I. 

In  the  private  office  of  the  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Davidge,  Moulton  &  Speer,  on  the  2Oth  story 
of  an  office  building  on  Wall  Street,  New  York,  sat 
George  Davidge.  The  hum  of  the  city  was  scarcely 
heard  at  that  great  height,  and  even  the  harsh  roar 
of  the  elevated  trains,  that  great  nuisance  to  the 
Metropolis,  was  greatly  subdued  and  softened. 

The  furniture  in  the  room  where  Mr.  Davidge 
sat  was  of  the  severe  kind  and  consisted  of  a  num 
ber  of  Mission  chairs,  each  possessing  an  arm 
sufficiently  wide  to  support  a  law  book  when  opened, 
a  square  table  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  upon  which 
were  legal  cap  paper,  ink-wells  and  blotters.  The 
covering  of  the  floor  was  of  the  kind  that  deadens 
the  sound  of  moving  feet  or  chairs. 

Mr.  Davidge  looked  the  man  of  about  fifty  years 
of  age.  His  hair,  once  black,  was  now  thickly 
sprinkled  with  grey  and  that  over  his  ears  nearly 

9 


io      COURTSHIP  .UNDER  CONTRACT. 

white  and  closely  cut,  while  his  whiskers,  trimmed 
to  the  Vandyke  shape  and  close,  were  crowned  with 
a  sweeping  moustache,  on  which  time  had  left  no 
traces.  He  presented  the  appearance  of  a  typical, 
cold  lawyer,  thin  of  flesh  and  erect  of  body.  His 
dress  was  neat  and  apparently  new,  consisting  of  a 
dark  grey  coat  and  trousers  and  white  vest,  giving 
him  the  appearance  of  a  well-groomed  and  prosper 
ous  New  Yorker. 

Mr.  Davidge  was  engaged  in  dictating  a  brief  to 
a  stenographer  from  copious  notes  taken  from  piles 
of  law  books  on  the  desk  and  floor,  when  the  office- 
boy  entered  and  informed  him  that  Mr.  Elliott,  one 
of  the  firm  clerks,  desired  to  interview  him  on 
matters  pertaining  to  the  Turtle  Tract  of  land  in 
St.  Lawrence  County,  N.  Y.,  whenever  it  pleased 
Mr.  Davidge  to  send  for  him. 

Mr.  Davidge  had  known  that  Elliott  had  gone  to 
St.  Lawrence  County  and  that  he  had  just  returned 
from  his  outing,  therefore,  at  the  first  opportunity 
in  which  he  could  lay  aside  his  work  he  told  his 
stenographer  to  retire  and  send  in  Mr.  Elliott. 

When  Mr.  Elliott  appeared,  Mr.  Davidge  arose 
and  shook  the  hand  of  the  young  man  warmly  and 
asked  him  to  be  seated  and  tell  him  of  his  trip. 

A  looker-on  would  not  have  observed  any.  dis- 


RALPH'S  ELATION.  11 

tinction  of  position  between  them  as  they  chatted 
about  the  pools  where  the  fish  toyed  with  the  fly, 
and  the  weight  of  those  landed.  Mr.  Elliott  seemed 
to  feel  at  perfect  ease  and  as  though  on  an  equal 
footing  with  his  companion,  and  gave  vent  to  his 
enthusiasm  when  describing  his  experiences. 

At  the  first  opportunity,  in  a  pause  in  the  conver 
sation,  he  said  "While  on  a  trip  amongst  the  farmers 
for  grub  for  the  camp,  I  ran  across  a  piece  of 
information  to  the  effect  that  Smith's  farm  which 
is  between  yours  was  in  danger  of  going  under  the 
hammer  in  a  foreclosure  proceeding  brought  by 
'Squire  Miller,  of  Morristown,  and  that  Smith  was 
willing  and  anxious  to  sell  in  order  to  save  some 
thing  out  of  it.  As  soon  as  I  heard  this,  I  cut  short 
my  outing  and  came  home  to  tell  you  of  it,  knowing 
that  you  would  naturally  desire  it." 

"I  should  like  to  get  it  and  I  thank  you  very  much 
for  your  thought  fulness.  How  much  of  your  leave- 
time  have  you  deprived  yourself  of,"  asked  Mr. 
Davidge. 

"Four  days." 

"Well,  Mr.  Elliott,  consider  that  you  are  entitled 
to  a  week  any  time  that  you  can  be  spared  and  that 
you  desire  to  take  it." 

"I  am  very  much  obliged,  Mr.  Davidge.    I  think 


12   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

I  shall  want  a  few  days  about  Thanksgiving  to  visit 
my  home." 

"All  right,  you  can  take  it  then.  Do  you  know 
anybody  who  could  handle  that  matter  for  me?" 

"Yes,  I  think  I  do.  There  is  a  young  lawyer  in 
the  Flatiron  Building  named  Ralph  Guy,  who  talks 
of  taking  an  outing,  and  I  believe  he  would  do  the 
business  to  your  satisfaction.  'Squire  Miller  is 
anxious  to  get  the  land,  but  Smith  is  determined  not 
to  let  him  have  it." 

"I  appreciate  your  kindness,  Mr.  Elliott  Do  you 
know  Mr.  Guy  personally?" 

"No,  but  I  have  an  intimate  friend  who  told  me 
of  him  and  who  said  that  he  talked  of  going  up 
there  soon  for  an  outing." 

Mr.  Davidge  immediately  left  his  office  and 
went  directly  to  Broadway,  where  he  took  a  surface 
car,  went  up  that  thoroughfare  to  23d  street, 
entered  the  elevator  of  the  Flatiron  Building,  and 
was  let  out  on  the  floor  on  which  was  Mr.  Guy's 
office.  He  entered,  and  finding  Mr.  Guy  at  his  desk, 
said: 

"This  is  Mr.  Guy,  I  believe." 

"Yes,  sir,  I  am  Mr.  Guy.  Be  seated,  please.  In 
what  way  can  I  serve  you  ?" 

"I  am  Mr.  Davidge,  Mr.  Guy,"  answered  Mr. 


RALPH'S  ELATION.  13 

Davidge,  as  he  presented  his  card  and  seated  him 
self. 

Mr.  Guy's  face  flushed  upon  seeing  in  his  office 
the  eminent  lawyer  of  that  distinguished  firm. 

"Mr.  Guy,"  said  Mr.  Davidge,  "I  wish  to  retain 
your  services  during  the  period  of  your  outing  in 
St.  Lawrence  County,  as  I  am  informed  by  one  of 
my  clerks  that  you  contemplate  taking  one  soon. 
If  I  can  get  your  services,  I  should  want  you  to  start 
at  once  for  that  point." 

"What  is  the  nature  of  the  service  you  wish  me 
to  undertake  ?" 

"I  can  assure  you  that  it  will  be  agreeable  work, 
and  such  as  will  give  you  an  outing  with  a  retainer. 
When  you  consent,  I  will  give  you  the  details.  Here 
is  my  retainer  to  cover  your  expenses  and  outlay," 
and  Mr.  Davidge  handed  him  a  check. 

"I  accept  it  and  will  depart  whenever  you  outline 
your  plan  of  business." 

"In  St.  Lawrence  County,  on  Black  Lake,  resides 
a  Mr.  Smith,  known  the  country  round  as  "Bill 
Smith."  The  father,  in  his  life  time,  was  familiarly 
known  as  "Old  Bill,"  while  our  subject  was  disting 
uished  as  "Young  Bill."  He  has  a  tract  of  land  up 
there  which  I  desire  to  purchase,  and  I  have  retained 
you  to  go  and  secure  it  for  me.  When  you  have 


1 4   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

done  so  and  gotten  the  deed,  have  the  same  recorded 
at  Morristown  and  bring  it  away  with  you,  and 
when  you  return  re-deed  it  to  me.  Do  you  accept 
the  duty?" 

"I  do,"  said  Mr.  Guy. 

"Can  you  manage  stenography?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Will  you  please,  then,  make  a  duplicate  copy  of 
the  agreement  setting  forth  this  engagement,  as  I 
have  stated  it?" 

Mr.  Guy  immediately  took  stenographic  notes  as 
dictated  by  Mr.  Davidge,  which,  when  put  into  type 
written  form,  they  each  signed,  and  then  Mr.  Dav 
idge  said,  "I  am  willing  to  pay  $5,000  for  the  prop 
erty,  and  you  can  have  anything  you  can  make  out 
of  it.  Of  course,  I  am  to  be  kept  in  the  background, 
for  I  have  already  bought  so  much  of  the  original 
Turtle  Tract,  which  Smith's  father  formerly  owned, 
that  he  has  an  animosity  towards  me  and  would  not 
sell  to  me  on  the  same  terms  that  he  would  to 
another." 

"I  will  leave  New  York  at  7.35  to-night  and  will 
do  my  best  to  secure  the  property  for  you." 

The  two  gentlemen  shook  hands  and  Mr.  Davidge 
took  his  leave. 

y^  was  delighted  with  the  prospect  of  an  outing 


RALPH'S  ELATION.  15 

with  a  retainer  and  figured  that  if  he  could  have  his 
trip  paid  for  and  make  $500  out  of  the  transaction, 
he  would  be  perfectly  satisfied. 

Seven  p.  m.  found  him  at  the  Grand  Central  sta 
tion  entering  the  sleeper  with  a  holiday  smile  on  his 
face  and  an  importance  in  his  bearing  that  would 
have  surprised  his  friends  had  they  beheld  him. 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  afternoon  of  the  next  day  found  Mr.  Guy 
at  the  small  railroad  station  not  far  from  Morris- 
town,  and  adjacent  to  the  Smith  property.  He 
walked  leisurely  to  the  post  office  of  the  little  village 
and  bought  some  cigars  from  the  elderly  man  behind 
the  counter  and  when  his  change  was  handed  him, 
he  asked  if  there  were  any  houses  in  the  neighbor 
hood  that  kept  boarders.  He  said  that  he  thought 
he  would  remain  there  a  week  or  two  if  he  could  find 
a  comfortable  place  to  board. 

"Where  be  ye  frum?"  asked  the  clerk. 

"From  New  York." 

"From  New  York  City?"  further  asked  the  clerk. 

"Yes;  from  New  York  City." 

"Well,  I  dunno;  it  'pears  to  me  as  though  Nancy 
Updyke  said  as  how  her  mother  wanted  a  boarder 
cr  two.  Be  ye  alone  ?" 

"Yes,  I  am  alone." 

16 


RALPH  IN  LUCK.  17 

"Not  married." 

"No  sir;  not  married." 

"Well,  gist  set  down  a  minnit,  and  ef  Nancy 
comes,  I'll  ask  her.  I  think  ye  can  go  to  the  Up- 
dykes.  How  much  do  ye  want  to  pay  fur  yer 
board?" 

"I  am  willing  to  pay  whatever  they  ask  for  good 
board." 

"I  wouldn't  wonder  if  they  ask  as  much  as  $4  at 
the  Updykes.  Here  comes  Nancy  Updyke  now,  and 
I'll  ask  her,"  said  the  clerk  as  he  went  to  the  front 
of  the  store  and  met  the  incoming  young  lady,  and 
began  a  conversation,  pointing  with  a  backward  jerk 
of  his  thumb  to  where  Mr.  Guy  was  standing.  The 
young  woman  was  evidently  favorable  to  the  taking 
of  a  boarder,  for  the  old  man  walked  to  where  Mr. 
Guy  was  and  said : 

"I  gist  ast  Miss  Updyke,  and  she  says  it's  all  right 
Her  mother  is  willin'  to  take  a  boarder,  and  ye  can 
come  up  to  dinner,  ef  ye  like." 

Mr.  Guy  said  he  was  willing  to  go  with  Miss 
Nancy  to  interview  her  mother,  and  see  what 
quarters  they  had  to  offer  him  for  the  present.  Had 
he  but  known  that  Mrs.  Updyke  was  a  sister  of  the 
"Bill  Smith"  with  whom  he  wished  to  meet  and  do 
business,  he  would  not  have  entertained  any  doubt  of 


1 8   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

his  accepting  any  terms  offered  him  or  any  quarters. 

Nancy,  having  made  some  purchases  and  obtained 
her  mail,  expressed  her  readiness  to  conduct  Mr.  Guy 
to  see  her  mother. 

Mr.  Guy  had  but  a  small  satchel  to  carry,  and  he 
and  Nancy  started. 

"The  distance  is  not  over  a  mile,"  said  Nancy, 
and  she  asked  Guy  if  he  thought  he  could  walk  it. 
Guy  expressed  a  willingness  to  try  with  such  agree 
able  company. 

They  had  not  gone  far  when  they  met  a  coarse, 
bibulous  looking  man,  who  asked:  "Nan,  have  you 
got  my  mail?" 

"No,  Uncle  Bill,  I  forgot  it." 

"I  guess  you'd  forgit  your  breath  ef  you  didn't 
need  it  fur  talking." 

Nan  tossed  her  head  and  started  on,  and  her  uncle 
Bill  proceeded  to  the  store. 

"That's  Uncle  Bill  Smith,  and  he  lives  near  neigh 
bor  to  us.  My  mother  is  his  sister,  and  he  thinks 
we  otto  wait  on  him  all  the  time.  He  drinks  awful 
sometimes,  but  he  isn't  drinking  to-day.  It's  a  won 
der  he  didn't  ask  me  who  you  was  right  before  you. 
He'll  ask  Mr.  Summers  at  the  store,  and  I'll  bet  a 
new  hat  that  he'll  be  up  to  our  house  this  evening 
yet." 


RALPH  IN  LUCK.  icj 

"Is  he  a  farmer?" 

*He  has  a  farm,  but  he  never  works  any  hisself. 
He  keeps  a  hired  man,  and  he  says  that  uncle  Bill's 
too  lazy  to  work." 

"Does  your  father  farm?" 

"Yes;  he  works  Mr  Davidge's  farm  on  shares. 
He  don't  own  no  farm  hisself.  That  white  cottage 
over  there  is  where  uncle  Bill  lives.  He  used  to  own 
our  place,  too,  but  he  lost  it." 

"Whose  place  is  that  over  there  with  the  red 
barn?"  asked  Guy. 

"That  is  Mr.  Davidge's,  too." 

"Does  Mr  Davidge  live  there?" 

"No ;  his  folks  live  in  New  York,  but  they  spend 
their  summers  on  the  island,  and  his  women  folks 
is  there  now." 

"Where  is  the  island?" 

"Oh,  don't  you  know?  Why  the  island  is  in 
Black  Lake  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  river  and 
close  to  the  shore  of  the  lake.  Did  you  ever  see  his 
daughter?" 

"No;  I  never  did.  I  did  not  know  he  had  a 
daughter." 

"Yes,  and  she's  beautiful.  She  isn't  a  bit  proud, 
though  her  father  is  awful  rich,  I  guess.  When 
she's  out  driving  or  ridin'  she  sometimes  comes  to 


20     COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

see  us  and  she  never  acts  stuck  up.     Her  name's 
Mona.    Isn't  that  a  funny  name?" 

"It  is  an  unusual  name.    Where  do  you  live?" 

"Just  back  of  the  woods.  You  can't  see  the  house 
from  this  back  road.  Be  you  tired?" 

"No,  only  curious." 

In  a  few  minutes  they  entered  a  path  that  cut  the 
grove  diagonally  and  brought  them  to  the  garden 
at  the  rear  of  the  house,  which  they  entered  at  the 
rear  end  of  the  hall  that  traversed  the  house  in  the 
middle.  Nancy  asked  Guy  to  be  seated  in  the  parlor 
while  she  interviewed  her  mother.  That  person 
entered  from  the  kitchen  and  "flopped"  down  into 
a  creaky  chair,  and  asked  Mr.  Guy  if  he  wanted 
board  and  room  by  the  month  or  the  week. 

"I  am  afraid  I  cannot  stay  a  month,  because  of 
pressing  business,  which  will  call  me  back  sooner 
If  it  will  suit  you  to  take  me  by  the  week  I  will 
remain  with  you  as  long  as  I  can." 

"All  right.  I  will  have  to  charge  you  $4  a  week, 
but  we  have  good  table  board,  and  I  see  to  the 
cookin'  myself." 

"Very  well.  Can  you  send  to  the  station  for  my 
trunk?  It  is  not  large." 

"Yes,  when  the  men  come  in,  two  of  'em  can  go 
down  fur  it." 


RALPH  IN  LUCK.  21 

Ralph  was  shown  to  his  room,  where  the  Updykes 
of  several  generations  from  the  war  period,  with  the 
large  hoop  skirts  and  gilt  painted  finger  rings  on 
broadly  spread  hands,  down  to  the  modern  photo 
graph,  were  paraded  on  the  walls  in  cheap  frames. 
The  bed,  a  high  wooden  poster  with  a  flaming 
many-colored  quilt,  was  in  one  corner.  A  low, 
small  window  looked  out  on  a  tangled  garden,  with 
hollyhocks  and  sunflowers  in  prominent  places. 

Ralph  sat  down  in  a  cushioned  rocker  and  re 
flected.  The  prospect  of  getting  acquainted  with 
Smith  was  very  promising,  and  he  congratulated 
himself  on  that  much  success  coming  his  way  with 
out  effort.  Smith  looked  coarse  and  unapproach 
able,  and  he  feared  that  the  grub  would  be  poor  and 
likewise  coarse.  His  hope  of  endurance  lay  in  bread 
and  milk,  and  he  was  intending  to  ask  for  fried 
mush,  and  thought  that  if  he  could  get  enough  of  it, 
with  fairly  good  bread  and  butter,  he  could  subsist 
for  a  couple  of  weeks.  '1  suppose  I  will  have  to  be 
agreeable  to  Nancy  if  I  know  on  which  side  my 
bread  is  buttered,"  he  said  to  himself.  He  bathed 
his  face  and  hands  and  went  to  enjoy  a  snooze  in  a 
hammock  he  had  seen  hanging  beneath  the  shade 
of  the  trees  in  the  front  yard.  The  coming  in  of  the 
men  and  their  conversation  while  engaged  in  wash- 


22   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

ing  their  faces  and  hands  at  the  rear  of  the  house 
awoke  him  and  his  nostrils  were  gratefully  assailed 
by  the  appetizing  odor  of  fried  ham  and  eggs,  which 
served  to  tease  his  latent  appetite  and  made  him  feel 
as  though  he  could  do  justice  to  such  a  meal,  with 
rich  milk  to  drink. 

Nancy  came  and  summoned  him  to  dinner,  and 
when  he  entered  the  dining  room  he  was  presented 
to  Mr.  Updyke,  who  proved  to  be  a  hardy  looking 
man,  red  haired,  and  freckled,  the  latter  large  and 
red  on  face,  hands  and  arms.  He  had  a  pleasant 
smile  and  a  slight  stammer.  He  and  the  boys  were 
coatless. 

Guy  did  full  justice  to  the  meal,  which  included 
fried  potatoes,  preserves,  with  milk,  coffee  and  good 
fresh  water  to  drink.  Things  in  the  dining  room 
looked  clean,  and  the  ponderous  Mrs.  Updyke  was 
in  a  freshly  ironed  calico  dress  with  up-to-date 
elbow  sleeves,  showing  two  clean  fat  arms.  Nancy 
was  seated  next  to  him  at  the  table,  and  she  did  the 
entertaining  lavishly. 

After  dinner,  which  passed  off  without  conversa 
tion  except  as  to  weather  and  the  condition  of  the 
crops,  Ralph  retired  to  the  front  porch  and  was  soon 
followed  by  Updyke.  Ralph  gave  him  a  cigar  and 
they  were  then  ready  to  talk,  which  was  started  by 


RALPH  IN  LUCK.  23 

Updyke  referring  to  the  tightness  of  money  and 
the  grasping  money  sharks  of  Wall  Street. 

Ralph  replied  that  the  tightened  state  of  the 
money-market  was  but  temporary  and  perhaps  re 
flected  the  uneasiness  that  usually  preceded  the 
meetings  of  the  National  Conventions  of  the  two 
great  political  parties.  The  power  of  the  President 
to  decide  in  what  kind  of  coin  the  interest  on  the 
public  debt  should  be  paid — Gold  or  Silver — left  a 
genuine  margin  of  unrest  amongst  conservative 
bankers  and  which  was  taken  advantage  of  by  un 
scrupulous  speculators  in  the  money  centers.  That 
there  was  a  fear  among  the  more  timid  that  Bryan, 
with  his  Free  Silver  theories,  was  a  menace  to  the 
well-being  of  the  nation's  stability,  and  that  he 
might  be  the  standard  bearer  of  the  Democratic 
party. 

"They  are  opposed  to  any  person  who  will  not  let 
them  run  the  business  of  the  Country  in  the  interests 
of  Wall  Street,"  said  Updyke,  with  much  feeling. 
"They  know  Bryan  is  the  friend  of  the  common 
people,  like  Lincoln,  he  is  the  greatest  man  America 
has  ever  produced  since  Jefferson's  time." 

"Do  you  except  Cleveland"  asked  Ralph  good 
naturedly. 


24   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Cleveland?  No  sir;  I  don't.  Cleveland  was 
lucky,  that's  all." 

"Did  you  swallow  Free  Silver  from  Bryan's 
spoon?" 

"Well,  yes;  I  did.  While  I  didn't  understand 
how  the  country  was  to  be  benefited  by  Free  Silver, 
except  by  making  money  plenty,  I  thought  if  those 
men  who  were  great  business  men  were  following 
Bryan's  Free  Silver  ideas,  there  must  have  been 
something  in  it  which  I  didn't  understand,  and  I 
could  stand  it  if  they  could.  Besides  from  the  fact 
that  Wall  Street  fought  it,  I  thought  there  must  be 
some  good  in  it  for  the  common  people." 

"From  the  fact  that  Wall  Street  opposed  it  and 
cried  "Mad  Dog"  at  Bryan  and  his  Free  Silver,  you 
thought  there  was  some  good  in  it,  even  though  you 
could  not  see  it.  Is  that  the  way?" 

"That  is  about  the  way  of  it.  They  oppose  every 
thing  in  which  the  common  people  are  interested." 

"And  you  watch  whichever  way  they  take  and 
then  you  take  the  opposite  side,  eh?"  asked  Ralph, 
laughingly. 

"Not  exactly;  but  I  can't  go  their  way." 

"Even  though  they  indorsed  Bryan?" 

"There  is  no  danger  of  their  indorsing  Bryan." 

The  barking  of  the  dogs  attracted  their  attention 


WINNING  "BILL"'  SMITH.  25 

and  Updyke  said,  "there  comes  Bill  Smith.  I  reckon 
you  and  him'll  get  on  fur  he's  a  Republican." 

Smith  came  around  the  corner  of  the  house  and 
was  introduced  to  Guy,  who  tendered  him  a  cigar 
and  sat  down  on  the  upper  step  close  to  Guy's  chair. 

"Bill,  I  reckon  this  gentleman's  politics  will  suit 
you,  for  he  thinks  Bryan's  a  fraud." 

"That's  right,"  chuckled  Smith. 

Guy  thought  here  is  where  I  must  win  Smith  by 
pitching  in  to  Updyke's  opinions.  He  looked  at 
Smith's  coarse  features  and  wondered  how  he  could 
sympathize  with  their  owner,  even  politically,  but 
thought  he  must  make  a  show  at  it  anyway. 

"Bryan's  as  good  a  Republican  as  Roosevelt  is  a 
Democrat,  and  if  it  hadn't  a  bin  fur  so  many  Demo 
crats  votin'  fur  Roosevelt  he  wouldn't  'a'  bin  elected, 
leastways  his  majority  wouldn't  a  bin  but  very 
little,"  said  Updyke. 

"Ah,  Sam,  shet  up  about  Democrats  electin' 
Roosevelt.  Bryan  is  sech  a  blatherskite  that  no  de 
cent  Democrat  kin  vote  for  him.  Ef  he's  nominated  at 
Denver  this  Fall  there  won't  never  be  any  Democrat 
party  no  more.  Of  course  you'll  vote  fur  him  be 
cause  you  don't  know  no  better.  It's  numskulls  like 
you  that  Bryan's  talk  suits.  You  don't  care  what  he 
is  jest  so  he  wears  the  Democrat  label." 


26   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Shet  up,  Bill  Smith.  Bryan  has  stood  fur  all  the 
things  that  Roosevelt  is  a  urging  Congress  to  pass. 
Roosevelt  gets  all  his  ideas  from  Bryan." 

"But,  Mr.  Updyke,"  said  Ralph,  "Bryan  sees  that 
his  Free  Silver,  his  Free  Trade,  his  Government 
Ownership  of  the  Public  Utilities  and  all  his  social 
istic  ideas  are  not  popular,  so  he  is  wise  enough  to 
drop  them  and  go  back  to  the  principles  of  the 
Republican  Party,  in  the  hope  that  the  voters  who 
do  not  know  what  he  really  is  at  heart  will  elect 
him  President.  In  his  campaign,  he  tried  his  best 
to  arraign  class  against  class,  the  working  man 
against  his  employer,  against  capital  and  against 
all  that  goes  for  the  betterment  of  the  people  and 
the  Country  at  large." 

"Ye'r  jest  right,"  said  Smith.  "When  he  was  in 
Congress  he  was  a  Free  Trader,  the  same  as  Cleve 
land  was,  when  the  Wilson  bill  was  substituted  for 
the  McKinley  Bill  uv  protection.  He  was  on  that 
committee  that  got  up  the  bill  that  opened  up  the 
soup  houses  in  all  the  big  cities  and  throwed  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  uv  men  out  uv  work,  and  that's 
what  he'd  do  again  ef  he  had  his  way." 

Updyke  was  silenced  by  this  onslaught,  and  gave 
Smith  the  opportunity  he  came  for,  and  he  asked 
Guy  if  he  was  intending  to  stay  up  country  long. 


WINNING  "BILL"'  SMITH.  27 

"No,  I  felt  that  I  needed  a  rest  and  I  came  up 
here  for  a  change  of  air,  and  to  do  a  little  fishing 
if  there  is  any  to  be  found,"  said  Guy. 

"Come  down  to  my  place  and  take  Sunday  dinner. 
I'll  set  ye  up  a  good  fat  chicken  and  other  things 
ef  ye'll  come,"  said  Smith,  "and  tell  you  where  you 
can  get  good  fishing." 

"Why,  yes,  I'll  be  glad  to  visit  you.  What  time 
do  you  dine?"  asked  Guy  rather  eagerly. 

"Oh!  gist  come  down  as  airly  as  you  feel  like  it. 
Sam'll  come  down  with  ye,  won't  ye  Sam?" 

"Yes,"  said  Updyke. 

"Well,  I  guess  I'll  be  agoin  fur  I'm  tired  as  all  out 
doors  from  hunting  that  black  heifer." 

"Did  you  find  it,  Bill?" 

"Yes,  I  found  it  away  down  by  the  Mill." 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Sunday  breakfast  consisted  of  waffles  done 
to  a  turn  and  served  hot,  poached  eggs  and  corn  beef 
hash,  fried  potatoes,  and  sweet  or  buttermilk  to 
drink,  of  which  Ralph  partook  heartily,  and  when 
he  arose  from  the  table  he  remarked,  "I  don't  believe 
Smith's  dinner  will  be  appreciated  to-day,  since  I 
have  eaten  so  much  breakfast.  It  is  a  pity,  Mrs. 
Updyke,  that  New  Yorkers  do  not  know  about  your 
fare.  I  am  sure  that  your  house  would  be  filled 
every  summer,"  after  saying  which  Ralph  retired 
to  the  hammock. 

The  morning  was  beautiful,  with  a  fresh,  crisp 
wind  blowing,  and  the  day  was  a  promising  one  for 
pleasure.  The  hum  of  the  bees  and  the  songs  of 
the  robin  and  lark  filled  the  air  pleasantly.  A  richly- 
hued  humming-bird  poised  its  beautiful  body  before 
each  bloom  of  a  near-by  bush  and  attracted  Ralph's 

28 


RALPH'S  TEMPTATION.  29 

attention  and  brought  to  his  mind  an  experience  of 
his  childhood  days,  when  he  had  caught  one  of  those 
beautiful  birds  and  holding  it  in  his  hands  ran  to 
show  it  to  his  mother,  who  was  then  engaged  before 
an  open  fireplace  in  the  basement  of  their  house, 
and  when  he  somewhat  released  his  hold  upon  his 
captive  to  enable  his  mother  to  see  it,  the  little  thing 
escaped  and  flew  into  the  fire  and  was  consumed 
before  his  eyes.  He  recalled  how  sadly  he  cried 
over  the  poor  little  bird's  death,  and  even  the  many 
years  of  a  busy  life  had  not  abated  his  sorrow  for 
the  little  sufferer.  His  sad  reverie  was  interrupted 
by  the  appearance  of  Nancy,  arrayed  in  a  white 
muslin  dress  and  straw  hat  trimmed  with  enough 
imitation  flowers  to  decorate  two  more  such  hats, 
who  started  to  the  village  church,  and  Ralph  was 
left  to  his  own  diversion. 

He  set  to  planning  how  he  could  bring  about  the 
accomplishment  of  his  mission,  but  concluded  to  let 
the  events  which  had  been  so  fortuitous  so  far 
adjust  themselves  to  his  interest  without  worry  on 
his  part,  and  trust  to  luck. 

Ralph  was  sitting  in  the  hammock,  when  Updyke 
came  from  the  barn  and  said,  "Ef  yuh  er  ready,  we 
mought  as  well  go  down  to  Bill's." 

Ralph  arose  and  joined  him,  and  they  started 


30   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

without  further  conversation. 

They  walked  leisurely  towards  Smith's  farm  in 
silence  for  quite  a  distance,  when  Updyke  gave  vent 
to  a  contemptuous  grunt — 

"Smith's  one  uv  the  durndest  fools  that  ye  ever 
seen.  When  Old  Bill  died  he  left  nigh  onto  a 
thousand  acres  o'  timber  land  and  some  little  clear 
ings  hereabouts.  The  land  was  about  all  Hemlock 
an'  the  Guv'ment  insisted  that  the  leather  fur  Army 
boots  and  shoes  must  be  tanned  with  Hemlock  bark 
and  tha  was  a  tannery  down  by  the  forks  thet  had 
used  up  all  their  leases  and  wanted  ta  lease  Bill's 
land  ta  get  the  bark  and  keep  thur  yards  a  runnin', 
but  the  durned  fool  would't  lease  nur  he  wouldn't 
peel  and  haul  the  bark  neither,  so  tha  shet  down, 
and  he  got  left. 

"Ef  Bill  'ed  left  polytics  and  whisky  alone,  and 
tended  to  farmin'  he'd  a  bin  rich  terday.  But  no, 
he'ed  sooner  talk  then  eat  enny  time.  He's  alias 
talkin'  about  what  he  'tends  to  do  and  never  does 
ennything." 

"How  much  of  the  tract  does  he  now  own?" 
asked  Ralph. 

"His  intrust  in  the  farm  is  all  he  has  left.  Tha's 
a  big  mortgage  on  it  now  that  will  eat  it  up  in  inter 
est  soon.  Squire  Miller  owns  the  mortgage,  and  he 


RALPH'S  TEMPTATION.  31 

wants  the  farm  pesky  bad.  He  wunt  wait  on  Bill 
Smith  nur  nobody." 

"How  is  it  you  have  not  bought  a  farm.  You 
seem  to  be  industrious  and  a  hard  worker?" 

"Well,  I've  had  a  right  smart  o'  sickness  meself 
and  me  oldest  son  broke  his  leg  when  I  wuz  sick  and 
I  run  behint  considerable.  Ef  Squire  would  'a' 
waited  a  y'ar  on  me,  I  wud  'a'  bought  the  mortgage, 
but  he  wants  the  farm  hisself,  so  he  won't  wait  fur 
nobody." 

"Is  the  farm  worth  anything?"  asked  Ralph. 

"It's  good  land  and  thurs  a  right  smart  o'  good 
timber  on  it,  but  Bill's  too  durned  lazy  and  too  bizzy 
drinkin  and  talkin  to  keep  up  repairs,  so  it's  awfully 
run  down." 

"What  do  you  think  the  farm  is  worth  as  it 
stands  ?" 

"Ef  it  wus  mine  ter  day  I  wouldn't  sell  it  fur  less 
en  four  thousand  dollars.  It  ud  take  hard  work 
fur  a  yar  anyways  to  put  it  in  shape.  Why  thur's 
a  maple  grove  onto  it  that  cud  be  enlarged  and 
trimmed  out  that  ud  give  a  nice  little  income. 
Thur's  a  good  pastur  fur  thirty  head  o'  cows  and 
thur's  a  station  handy  tuh  take  milk  to  market,  if  he 
wasn't  so  durned  lazy.  He  cud  a'  paid  thet  mort 
gage  long  ago  with  milk  and  maple  shooger.  I 


32   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

guess  'Squire  Millen  wants  to  git  it  while  it's  wuth 
the  mortgage." 

As  they  approached  the  place,  Smith  was  out  look 
ing  for  them,  and  soon  joined  them  on  the  road, 
and  they  walked  together  to  the  house. 

We  will  pass  over  the  details  of  the  dinner,  admit 
ting  that  it  was  a  good  country  dinner,  with  quince 
and  crabapple  preserves  and  rich  rice  pudding,  dec 
orated  with  cream  the  like  of  which  never  reaches 
New  York. 

The  three  men  retired  to  the  veranda,  Updyke 
pulling  at  a  cob-pipe  while  Ralph  and  Smith  smoked 
a  couple  of  Ralph's  cigars. 

The  question  of  fishing  being  introduced,  Ralph 
expressed  the  wish  that  he  could  have  some  good 
fishing  before  he  went  back  to  the  City. 

Smith  said :  "I  be  agoin'  to  Town  to-morrow,  and 
ef  you  come  down  airly  I'll  take  ye  to  a  good  place 
near  the  Lake  and  leave  ye  thar  'til  I  come  home  in 
the  evenen',  and  I'll  bring  you  back  fur  supper  at  my 
house." 

Thus  was  provided  an  opportunity  for  Ralph  to 
do  some  fishing. 

Ralph  was  up  bright  and  early  on  Monday  morn 
ing,  feeling  very  well  pleased  with  his  success  so  far, 
and  after  eating  a  light  breakfast  started 


RALPH'S  QUEST.  33 

for  Smith's  farm,  bent  on  seeing  Miss  Davidge, 
that  paragon  of  beauty,  before  the  sun  would  set 
that  evening. 

The  ride  to  the  Ford  was  uneventful,  Smith  being 
in  a  preoccupied  state  of  mind  and  not  as  talkative 
as  usual,  and  Ralph  thought  it  best  to  not  disturb 
his  thoughts.  Upon  reaching  the  Ford,  Smith  set 
him  down  and  pointed  out  to  him  the  direction  to 
go  to  find  the  best  fishing,  and  told  him  to  meet  him 
at  that  same  spot  at  five  o'clock.  At  parting,  Smith 
took  up  a  pail  and  handed  it  to  Ralph,  saying :  "The 
women  sent  this  along,  sayin'  they  guessed  you 
would  be  hungry  sometime  to-day."  Ralph  thanked 
him,  took  the  pail,  and  Smith  moved  off. 

After  Smith  had  disappeared,  Ralph  chose  a  posi 
tion  above  the  Ford,  whence  he  could  command  a 
view  of  the  road  for  some  distance  up  the  road,  and 
from  which  he  would  be  secure  from  observation  by 
any  one  approaching. 

He  fished  without  even  an  encouraging  nibble  for 
an  hour  or  more,  when  he  saw,  coming  down  the 
road  at  a  canter,  a  lady  equestrian  dressed  in  green, 
with  a  broad-brimmed  straw  hat.  That  was  the 
vision  for  which  he  had  gazed  to  the  neglect  of  his 
fly — the  beautiful  Miss  Davidge,  "who  Avas  not  a 
bit  stuck-up,"  as  Nancy  expressed  it.  Ralph  retired 


34   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

behind  some  bushes,  and  was  all  attention  at  the 
Ford,  and  was  afforded  an  excellent  view  of  Mona, 
who,  in  order  to  enable  her  horse  to  drink,  turned 
his  head  up  stream  some  little  distance,  where  there 
was  a  deeper  pool  of  water.  After  the  horse  had 
ceased  to  drink,  she  seemed  loath  to  leave  the  shady 
nook,  the  quiet  of  which  seemed  to  appeal  to  her,  for 
she  sat  gazing  up  the  stream  in  the  direction  where 
was  secluded  Ralph.  She  leisurely  turned  her  horse 
and  started  in  the  direction  Smith  had  taken. 

"By  George,  she  is  handsome,"  said  Ralph.  Then 
he  wound  his  line  around  his  rod  and  started  up  the 
pathway  that  he  believed  would  lead  to  the  lake  and 
that  finally  brought  him  to  the  place  he  sought. 

He  hired  a  boat  and  entered  it,  then  rowed  in  the 
direction  of  the  island,  not  far  from  the  main  land. 
Upon  reaching  it,  he  tied  his  boat  in  a  small  cove 
and  went  ashore.  He  seemed  bent  upon  some  par 
ticular  spot.  He  scanned  the  island  carefully.  Upon 
the  lower  end,  he  saw  a  small  boy  hoeing  in  a  garden 
quite  a  distance  from  a  little  old  house  where  he 
evidently  lived.  Ralph  bent  his  steps  gardenwards 
and  called  the  boy  to  the  fence  and  asked  him  who 
lived  on  the  island.  "We-uns  live  thar,"  pointing  to 
the  house,  which  Ralph  thought  fitted  the  boy,  "and 
over  yon  aways  is  a  lawyer  from  New  York.  Up 


RALPH'S  QUEST.  35 

this  side  aways  is  a  old  woman  and  her  dead  darter's 
kids." 

Ralph  gave  the  boy  a  dime  and  started  "over  yon," 
to  see  how  the  ground  lay  where  the  beautiful  Mona 
lived. 

The  landscape  was  grand,  but  Ralph  had  that  in 
his  head  which  precluded  any  extended  admiration 
of  nature's  works.  Some  broad  fields  presented  an 
extensive  view  of  rolling  land,  with  a  grove  of  wal 
nut  trees  in  the  centre,  under  which  were  some  cattle 
lying  under  the  shade  chewing  their  cud,  while  they 
lazily  brushed  the  flies  from  their  body  by  a  well- 
directed  whisk  of  the  tail. 

The  island  broadened  at  its  upper  end,  and  it 
was  no  little  walk  to  where  he  saw  the  remains  of 
an  old  house,  and,  close  by  it,  a  hammock  swung 
between  two  trees,  around  which  the  grass  was  trod 
den  to  death,  and  bare  ground  was  the  order.  Being 
satisfied  that  he  had  found  the  quiet  retreat  of  that 
young  lady,  he  feared  to  remain,  lest  somebody 
should  come  along  from  the  path  that  seemed  to 
lead  from  the  direction  of  the  house,  which  was  hid 
den  from  view  by  the  dense  foliage  of  a  clump  of 
elderberry  bushes  and  some  small  trees  close  by.  He 
returned  to  his  boat,  went  aboard  and  returned  to 
the  float  where  he  had  hired  it.  He  went  back  to  the 


36   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

fishing-ground  pointed  out  by  Smith,  and  sedulously 
busied  himself  trying  to  get  a  fish  to  attach  itself  to 
his  hook.  Feeling  hungry,  he  went  in  search  of  the 
tin  pail  the  thoughtful  women  had  prepared  for  him. 
He  found  therein  a  piece  of  cold  chicken,  some  bis 
cuit,  apple  pie,  and  a  small  tin  cup  of  preserves,  with 
a  bottle  of  buttermilk  standing  like  a  sentinel  midst 
the  satisfying  provender.  The  tramp  and  the  brac 
ing  atmosphere  enabled  him  to  do  full  justice  to  the 
enticing  viands,  which  he  finished,  and  then  stretched 
himself  upon  the  grass,  where  he  took  a  nap,  after 
which  he  resumed  his  fishing. 

Smith  returned  from  town,  where,  it  was  evident 
from  his  breath,  he  had  been  patronizing  the  bar 
room.  Ralph  was  at  the  Ford  waiting  for  him,  and 
was  picked  up,  and  they  started  for  home. 

On  the  way,  Ralph  expressed  admiration  for  the 
country  and  the  invigorating  air,  and  expressed  the 
wish  that  he  had  a  home  up  in  that  country,  where 
his  delicate  sister  could  live  and  perhaps  regain  her 
lost  health.  Her  husband  was  a  carpenter,  and  might 
be  trained  as  a  farmer.  It  would  be  a  good  place 
for  him  to  spend  his  summers  and,  incidentally,  spec 
ulate  a  little.  With  a  good  apple  cellar,  he  thought 
some  money  could  be  well  invested  in  apples. 

"All  right,  buy  my  place;  it's  fur  sale  and  thur 


RALPH'S  QUEST.  37 

isn't  a  better  cellar  in  the  State  of  New  York,  for 
there  is  fresh  water  running  through  it  all  the  time." 

"You  don't  mean  it.  You  would  not  sell  your 
place." 

"Yes,  I  do  mean  it.    Make  me  an  offer." 

"How  many  acres  have  you?" 

"One  hundred  and  forty." 

"Two  thousand." 

"Come  up." 

"Twenty-five  hundred." 

"Come  up  higher,  fur  ther's  a  mortgage  on  it  fur 
just  that  amount.  I  kain't  let  it  go  fur  that.  I  must 
have  thirty-five  hundred." 

"When  can  you  give  possession?" 

"Almost  any  time  after  the  fifteenth  of  next 
month." 

"Well,  really,  I  have  no  use  for  a  farm,  and  I 
had  not  given  the  subject  serious  thought,  but  was 
just  talking;  but  if  your  place  sizes  up  to  my  idea  of 
a  farm,  I  might  give  it  earnest  consideration.  How 
much  of  it  is  tillable  ?  I  think  I  would  sooner  have 
a  pasture  farm  and  do  a  dairy  business  than  any 
extensive  farming  of  crops." 

"Nigh  onta  sixty-five  acres.  There  is  ten  acres  of 
meadow,  which  gives  as  good  a  hay  crop  as  ye  ever 
see.  The  orchard  has  about  nine  acres,  and  the  gar- 


38   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

den  patch  one,  that's  eighty-five.  The  house,  barn 
and  cattle-yard  is  three  more,  and  thur's  a  hog  lot 
down  below  the  spring  house  of  about  an  acre.  The 
rest  is  timber,  and  pretty  good  timber,  too.  Thur's 
about  fifty  good  sugar  trees,  and  if  I  stayed,  I  was 
a-goin'  to  put  out  about  a  hundred  more,  fur  maple 
sugar  pays  good,  and  so  does  the  syrup.  Come  over 
to-morrow,  and  I'll  show  you  over  it." 

From  the  fact  that  Smith  was  considerably  under 
the  influence  of  liquor,  Ralph  decided  to  wait  until 
the  morning  for  further  talk  on  the  subject  of  the 
purchase,  fearing  that  it  would  smack  of  taking 
advantage  of  him,  and  besides,  there  might  be  misun 
derstandings.  When  they  reached  the  Smith  farm, 
Ralph  said:  "I'll  get  out  here  and  walk  to  the 
Updykes,  and  see  you  to-morrow." 

"No,  you'll  not.  You'll  stay  right  here,"  said 
Smith,  "and  when  Sam  Updyke  comes  down  this 
evenin',  I  want  you  to  pitch  into  his  politics  rough 
shod  ef  he  opens  his  mouth  on  the  subject.  Now, 
go  round  to  the  shady  hammock  and  make  yourself 
comfortable,  and  I'll  come  round  as  soon  as  I  put  up 
my  horses." 

Ralph  did  as  he  was  ordered,  nothing  loath,  and 
when  Smith  came  he  manifested  his  anxiety  by 
beginning  where  he  left  off  on  the  subject  of  the 


RALPH'S  QUEST.  39 

sale.  "Yeh  kin  git  maple  trees,  I  mean  sugar  maple, 
fur  one  dollar,  and  insured  to  grow,  ef  yeh  follow 
instructions  about  plantin',  and  ye'd  soon  have  a 
grove  that  'ed  give  yeh  a  nice  income.  I've  been 
intenden'  to  put  it  all  about  here,  planten'  'em  so 
that  I  could  drean  'em  all  down  to  the  kittle  thar 
where  yeh  see  the  little  shed;  that's  the  bilen'  shed 
down  there'  by  the  willow  tree.  Ther'  wouldn't  be 
no  currying  the  sap  at  all." 

"Would  your  wife  sign  the  deed  ?" 

"Sure  she  will." 

"Well,  to-morrow  we  will  have  a  look  over  the 
farm  together,  and  then  I  will  make  up  my  mind 
about  it,"  said  Ralph. 

Smith  was  glad  to  see  Updyke  come  down  that 
evening,  and  he  started  the  discussion  soon  after  by 
saying :  "It  look's  mighty  squally  fur  the  Democrats 
this  Fall,  ef  they  nominate  the  County  Treasurer 
ag'in,  fur  he  has  a  bad  record." 

Ralph  said :  "You  can  generally  depend  upon  them 
putting  their  feet  in  it  at  a  critical  moment  and  dig 
ging  their  own  grave." 

"I  don't  know  es  they're  wuss  than  the  Republi 
cans  fur  that,"  said  Updyke. 

"Do  you  recall  what  a  fist  they  made  of  it  when 
they  had  the  President,  the  United  States  Senate  and 


40   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

the  House  of  Representatives.  They  repealed  the 
Silver-Purchasing  Act,  and  thus  got  all  the  influence 
of  the  mine-owners  against  them,  making  it  possi 
ble  for  the  organization  (largely  from  their  ranks) 
of  the  Free  Silver  Populists;  then  they  repealed  the 
McKinley  Bill,  and  got  the  manufacturers  down  on 
them.  Their  Gorman-Wilson  Tariff  Bill  was  but  a 
slight  reduction  of  the  McKinley  Bill,  showing  their 
cowardice  in  dodging  Free  Trade,  as  provided  for  in 
their  platform,  and  by  it  they  disgusted  Cleveland 
and  the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  country,"  said 
Ralph. 

"Ef  it  wuz  only  a  reduction  of  the  duties  of  the 
McKinley  Bill,"  said  Updyke,  "then  the  Republi 
cans  ought'ent  to  kick." 

"But,"  said  Ralph,  "it  was  too  low  for  the  Repub 
licans  and  the  manufacturers  and  too  high  for  the 
Free  Traders.  Their  cowardice  in  shunning  Free 
Trade,  which  they  promised  (not  in  so  many  words, 
but  in  saying  that  Protection  was  an  iniquity)  thor 
oughly  disgusted  Cleveland." 

"I  don't  see  as  ye  shud  blame  the  Demicrats  fur 
makin'  mistakes,  ef  they  caused  the  defeat  of  the 
Demicrats,"  said  Updyke. 

"I  don't  blame  them,"  said  Smith,  "but  they're 
allays  on  the  wrong  side  uv  all  questions." 


RALPH'S  QUEST.  41 

"I  challenge  you,  Mr.  Updyke,"  said  Ralph,  "to 
name  one  single  measure  that  the  Democratic  Party 
has  ever  advocated  before  the  people  that  went  for 
the  upbuilding  of  the  country.  You  can  think  over 
that  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  tell  me  to-morrow. 
Name  just  one  measure." 

"Oh,  shucks,"  said  Updyke. 

"I  will  now  say  broadly  that  they  have  never  gone 
before  the  people  with  a  single  measure  that  they 
wanted  enacted  into  the  laws  that  went  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  country." 

"Well,"  said  Updyke,  "who  first  advocated  Civil 
Service  Reform  in  the  United  States  Senate  but  Sen 
ator  Pendleton,  a  Demicrat,  and  who,  but  Grover 
Cleveland,  a  Demicrat  and  President  of  the  United 
States,  put  his  power  behind  it  to  carry  it  out?  Ef 
Civil  Service  ain't  fur  the  good  ev  the  kentry,  what 
is  ?  I  take  notice  all  the  rest  of  the  Presidents  sence 
Cleveland's  time  hev  adopted  it." 

Just  then  the  Updyke  dog  got  into  a  fight  with  the 
Bill  Smith  dog,  and  it  took  the  combined  efforts  of 
the  three  men  and  two  pails  of  water  to  part  them, 
after  which  Updyke  started  home.  Ralph  remained ; 
staying  all  night  at  Smith's. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Early  the  next  day,  Smith  invited  Ralph  to  go 
over  the  property  with  him.  Ralph  was  in  a  partic 
ularly  critical  disposition,  and  found  much  fault  with 
the  condition  of  things  in  general.  The  spring-house 
roof  leaked  and  the  house  was  about  tumbling  down, 
which  Smith  admitted,  but  had  intended  building 
anew  in  the  FalL  The  wagon-house  roof  was  much 
open,  and  Smith  had  included  that  in  his  estimate 
for  lumber,  in  his  talk  with  Reynolds,  the  lumber 
man.  Hie  garden  fence  was  nearly  all  down,  and 
that,  too,  had  been  included  in  the  estimate  for  lum 
ber.  It  was  so  with  everything.  It  was  everywhere 
manifest  that  everything  had  to  give  way  to  the  one 
dominant  passion,  drink,  which  insatiate  appetite  had 
demanded  the  wherewith  that  was  so  badly  needed 
everywhere. 

Finally,  after  they  had  been  in  all  the  tumble 
down  structures,  Ralph  told  him  that  the  farm  was 

43 


RALPH  INFATUATED.  43 

so  run-down  that  he  did  not  think  he  could  give  more 
than  three  thousand  dollars  for  it. 

'That  won't  bring  it,  fur  I  have  a  standing  offer 
from  my  consul  of  that  amount,  but  I  must  her 
that  extra  five  hundred."* 

It  was  finally  agreed,  with  much  show  of  reluc 
tance  on  the  part  of  Ralph,  that  the  price  would  be 
thirty-five  hundred,  and  that  Smith  would  vacate 
within  thirty  days  of  the  transfer  of  the  property. 

That  afternoon  they  went  to  Morristown  to  give 
Ralph  a  chance  to  examine  the  records  and  have  the 
abstract  brought  down.  Mrs.  Smith  was  taken  along 
to  sign  the  deed.  Ralph  received  the  certificate  of 
search  and  the  deed,  for  which  he  paid  one  thousand 
dollars,  less  die  expenses  of  the  search,  and  he  then 
placed  the  deed  on  record.  They  had  a  drink  at 
Smith's  expense,  got  in  die  wagon,  and  started  for 
home,  each  well  pleased  with  the  sale;  Smith  because 
he  had  prevented  Squire  Miller's  scheme,  and  Ralph 
because  he  had  been  successful  in  getting  the  prop 
erty  for  thirty-five  hundred  dollars. 

When  they  reached  the  Ford  and  their  horses 


drinking,  and  Ralph  was  pointing  out  the  place  where 
he  caught  that  five-pounder  bass,  a  young  lady  in 
green  riding  dress  rode  into  the  Ford  at  the  opposite 
side  of  the  stream.  Of  course,  Ralph  was  aJU  expec- 


44   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

tancy,  and  asked  the  name  of  the  beautiful  eques 
trian.  Smith  informed  him  that  it  was  Miss 
Davidge,  the  daughter  of  a  New  York  lawyer  who 
owned  the  Updyke  farm  and  also  wanted  to  buy 
his  farm.  As  they  passed,  the  young  lady  looked 
pleasantly  at  the  Smiths  and  bowed,  and  Ralph 
raised  his  hat  and  beamed  on  the  young  woman. 
Mrs.  Smith  spoke  pleasantly,  and  Bill  gave  her  a  cold 
nod.  When  they  had  passed,  Ralph  could  not  resist 
the  temptation  to  turn  in  his  seat  and  gaze  admir 
ingly  after  her. 

Ralph  told  Smith  that  this  unexpected  purchase 
had  changed  his  plans,  and  that  he  would  have  to 
return  to  the  city  sooner  than  he  had  expected,  but 
that  he  would  like  to  have  a  few  days'  more  fishing. 

The  following  day,  he  started  towards  the  fishing 
grounds,  and  directed  his  steps  to  the  boat-house, 
where  he  hired  a  boat  and  started  out,  ostensibly  to 
fish,  but  in  reality  to  force  a  meeting  with  Miss 
Davidge.  He  rowed  to  the  lower  end  of  the  island, 
where  he  moored  his  boat  in  a  small  cove  located 
not  far  from  the  hammock,  to  gain  which  he  had 
to  walk  but  a  few  hundred'  yards. 

This  he  did,  and  found  that  it  was  vacant.  He 
walked  to  where  the  bushes  would  hide  him,  pre 
pared  his  fishing-tackle,  and  proceeded  to  cast  the 


RALPH  INFATUATED.  45 

line.  His  mind  was  in  such  a  turmoil  with  the 
prospects  of  meeting  the  young  lady  that  he  could 
not  content  himself  with  fishing,  and  he  rowed  back 
to  the  mainland,  upon  which  he  landed,  where  he  sat 
on  a  log,  with  his  gaze  directed  toward  the  spot 
in  which  he  thought  the  hammock  was  located.  He 
had  a  fear  of  the  undertaking  and,  laying  down  his 
rod,  crept  into  the  shade  and  stretched  himself  on 
the  ground,  closed  his  eyes  and  studied.  He  fully 
realized  that  he  could  not  reach  her  in  the  city,  and 
that  if  he  could  not  plan  a  meeting  with  her  here, 
there  seemed  no  hope  whatever  of  his  gaining  her 
acquaintance.  He  lacked  the  courage  to  make  a  bold 
advance.  He  must  study  out  a  plan  that  would  at 
least  seem  reasonable,  and  which  to  him  must  also 
be  feasible. 

He  lay  a  long  time,  and  then  looked  at  his  watch, 
and  found  it  to  be  past  midday.  He  resolved  to  get 
in  his  boat  and  row  away  over  the  lake  and  back 
again,  when  he  would,  in  reality,  be  both  tired  and 
heated,  and  then  go  to  the  young  lady's  retreat  for 
shade  and  rest,  and  wait  for  her  coming. 

This  to  him  seemed  the  most  feasible  plan.  He 
proceeded  to  carry  it  out.  Upon  arriving  at  the 
island  he  was  in  reality  almost  exhausted,  and  the 
unusual  pulsation  in  his  temples  warned  him  that 


46   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

he  had  overexerted  himself,  and  after  tieing  his  boat, 
he  landed  and  took  possession  of  the  hammock  and 
a  book  which  he  found  there.  He  was  not  a  little 
surprised  to  find  that  she  had  apparently  already 
been  there.  Perhaps  she  had  seen  him  approach  and 
had  run  away.  He  concluded  that  he  would  wait 
at  least  an  hour  before  giving  up.  The  book  he 
found  would  entertain  him  for  a  longer  time,  for  it 
was  his  favorite. 

While  his  interest  was  taken  up  in  the  beautiful 
language  of  "Geraldine,"  he  heard  the  unmistakable 
rustle  of  dried  leaves,  indicating  footsteps  approach 
ing  from  the  house,  and  he  immediately  arose  from 
the  hammock,  to  be  confronted  by  Miss  Davidge. 

Surprise  and  consternation  were  both  equally 
depicted  on  her  face,  and  Ralph  thought  he  saw  dis 
approval  of  his  venture  also  manifested  on  that  beau 
tiful  face.  He  observed  that  the  young  lady  was  of 
the  tall,  willowy  kind,  and  that  she  was  dressed  in 
some  sort  of  clinging  material,  which  he  thought  was 
bewitchingly  suitable  to  her  lithe  figure. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  remains  of  an  old  fish 
erman's  cabin  had  hidden  him  from  view,  she  had 
not  seen  him  until  the  instant  of  his  hearing  the 
rustle  of  the  leaves.  He  hurriedly  reached  for  and 
put  on  his  coat,  that  had  been  cast  off  before  get- 


RALPH  FORCES  A  MEETING.     47 

ting  into  the  hammock,  and  in  an  embarrassed  tone 
said :  "I  truly  beg  your  pardon  for  the  extreme  lib 
erty  which  I  have  taken  with  your  cozy  retreat,  for 
such  I  now  see  it  to  be;  but  rowing  in  the  hot  sun, 
to  one  not  inured  to  it,  is  extremely  tiresome,  not 
to  say  exhausting,  and  I  felt  the  necessity  for  rest 
in  the  shade.  I  will  retire  now,  and  I  heartily  thank 
you.  I  am  quite  cooled  off  and  rested." 

Miss  Davidge  was  fully  recovered  from  the  sur 
prise  that  overwhelmed  her  upon  coming  upon  the 
much-at-home  stranger  in  her  hammock,  and  said: 
"You  need  not  hurry  away;  I  have  just  come  to 
recover  a  book,  which  I  was  reading  here  this  morn 
ing,  and  will  return  to  the  house." 

"I  imagine  this  is  your  book,  which  I  found  in 
your  hammock,  and  in  which  I  take  much  pleasure  in 
its,  to  me,  fascinating  lines,"  said  Ralph,  as  he 
handed  to  Miss  Davidge  the  book,  and  added:  "I 
trust  the  beauty  of  this  'Souvenir  of  the  St.  Law 
rence'  has  alike  awakened  a  deep  attraction  in  your 
love  of  the  muse." 

"Oh,  then  you  know  the  book,"  said  Miss  Davidge 
animatedly.  "Pray  tell  me,  if  you  know,  whom  its 
author  is.  I  am  consumed  with  curiosity  to  know 
the  author's  name.  It  seems  too  bad  that  the  author 


48   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

of  such  an  intensely  beautiful  work  should  withhold 
his  name.  Do  you  know  who  wrote  it  ?" 

"Truly,  I  do  not,  but  its  close  resemblance  to  that 
other  wonderful  work,  'Lucille,'  almost  leads  me  to 
attribute  its  authorship  to  Mr.  Meredith.  I  like  the 
book  so  intensely  that,  when  I  feel  brain-fag  coming 
on  from  overwork,  I  hunt  up  my  copy  and  find  rest 
after  reading  a  few  chapters  of  'Geraldine.'  ' 

"Oh,  then  you  see  that  great  similarity,  too.  I 
feared  that  it  might  be  only  imagination  on  my  part," 
said  Miss  Davidge.  This  harmony  of  thought  on  a 
subject  that  had  given  her  such  intense  pleasure 
swept  away  all  barriers  of  formality,  and  she  forgot 
that  they  were  strangers  to  each  other.  She  talked 
intelligently  and  well  when  on  the  subject  of  her 
favorite  authors,  and  Ralph  was  drawn  to  like  her 
for  her  intelligence,  and  he  encouraged  her  by  many 
questions  and  observations,  until  an  embarrassing 
pause  served  to  bring  to  Miss  Davidge's  mind  a  reali 
zation  of  the  fact  that  they  were  strangers,  and  then 
she  said,  in  a  sort  of  regretful  manner,  "Ah,  I  must 
go,  but  don't  feel  that  you  must  hurry  away.  Pray 
rest  yourself  as  long  as  you  wish." 

Ralph,  a  man  of  the  world,  and  long  accustomed 
to  grapple  with  more  difficult  conditions,  was  not 
disposed  to  let  this  opportunity  slip  away,  so  he  said, 


RALPH  FORCES  A  MEETING.  49 

in  as  sweetly  modulated  tones  as  he  could  master, 
"Will  you  permit  me  to  introduce  myself,  Madame? 
I  am  Mr.  Guy — Ralph  Guy — of  New  York,  and  have 
had  the  extreme  pleasure  of  looking  into  your  eyes 
at  least  once  before,  at  the  Ford  a  few  days  ago. 
May  I  not  know  the  name  of  the  fair  owner  of  this 
lovely  retreat?  It  will  at  least  be  a  happy  memory 
when  I  again  resort  to  my  solace  when  suffering 
from  overwork.  I  am  sure  that  I  can  never  disso 
ciate  your  face  from  the  book  hereafter.  Please 
accept  my  card." 

Miss  Davidge's  face  wore  a  pleasant  smile  as  she 
faintly  bowed  in  acknowledgment  of  the  self- 
introduction,  and  said:  "I  am.Mona  Davidge,  and 
papa  owns  this  little  island,  and  he,  too,  is  a  lawyer 
in  New  York." 

"I  am  more  pleased  than  I  can  express  in  words  to 
know  that  you  are  Miss  Davidge,  and  the  daughter 
of  a  man  of  such  distinction  as  George  Davidge,  of 
the  New  York  Bar.  Our  meeting  is  more  than  a 
mere  coincidence,  and  to  me  it  seems  almost  a  Provi 
dence,  for  my  mission  to  this  vicinity  is  of  a  confi 
dential  nature  for  your  father,  and,  having  suc 
ceeded,  I  am  expecting  to  return  to  New  York,  and 
shall  soon  meet  him  again." 

Miss  Davidge's  face  brightened  intelligently,  show- 


50   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

ing  her  knowledge  as  to  what  the  mission  was  and  ap 
preciation  of  the  fact  of  its  favorable  completion,  and 
she  remarked :  "I  think  I  comprehend  you,  Mr.  Guy." 

Ralph  restrained  his  impetuosity  for  the  moment, 
and  until  Miss  Davidge  was  about  to  move  away 
homeward,  when  he  summoned  his  courage,  and  put 
into  words  the  burning  desire  of  his  heart,  and  with 
as  much  pathos  as  he  could  summon,  said:  "Miss 
Davidge,  if  I  were  to  invade  your  retreat  in  your 
morning  hour,  to-morrow,  might  I  hope  that  my 
coming  would  not  drive  you  away  ?  The  association 
with  those  whom  I  meet  at  Updyke's  and  Smith's 
has  not  awakened  a  desire  for  their  company  during 
the  few  days  that  I  have  been  here,  and  now,  I 
confess  that  it  will  be  unendurable,  since  I  have 
tasted  the  harmony  of  thought  with  you.  May  I 
come  to-morrow,  and  may  I  hope  to  find  you  here?" 

Mona  flushed  deeply  and  cast  down  her  eyes  before 
replying,  and  then  raising  them,  looked  full  in  Mr. 
Guy's  face  and  said :  "Since  my  father  has  intrusted 
you  with  an  important  mission,  Mr.  Guy,  and  your 
stay  here  is  to  terminate  so  soon,  I  will  not  run 
away  if  you  come  to-morrow.  Of  course,  I  will 
acquaint  my  mother  with  the  fact  of  our  meeting 
here  so  unexpectedly,  and  I  think  she  will  trust  my 
discretion  and  consent  to  my  meeting  you.  Besides, 


RALPH  FORCES  A  MEETING.  51 

I  confess  to  a  desire  to  further  discuss  our  favorite 
authors.  You  may  come,  if  you  desire  to,  at  nine, 
my  usual  hour  for  coming  here." 

Ralph  would  have  liked  to  continue  the  conversa 
tion,  but  Miss  Davidge's  manner  seemed  to  close  the 
interview,  and  she  passed  out  of  sight.  When  he 
realized  fully  that  she  was  gone,  Ralph  sat  down  in 
the  hammock,  and  his  mind  went  back  to  the  moment 
of  his  inspiration  urging  him  to  grasp  the  hand  of 
Fate  held  out  to  him  by  Mr.  Davidge's  visit  to  his 
office.  His  eyes  fairly  danced  in  his  head  with  exul 
tation  and  delight,  and  he  felt  in  his  heart  that  this 
beautiful  woman  was  his  destiny,  and  that  he  would 
win  her  in  the  end.  Visions  of  association  with  the 
firm  of  Davidge  &  Guy,  Attorneys-at-Law,  crowded 
fast  on  his  mental  forecast  of  marriage  to  the  most 
lovely  creature  it  had  been  his  good  fortune  to  meet. 
He  arose  from  the  hammock  and  sought  his  boat, 
and  leisurely  paddled  back  to  the  boat-landing,  paid 
for  the  hire,  and  walked  toward  the  house,  passing 
other  strollers  without  raising  his  eyes  from  the 
ground,  not  even  realizing  that  some  of  them  were 
persons  whom  he  had  met  on  the  road  before  in  his 
daily  tramps.  Upon  reaching  the  house,  he  went 
directly  to  his  room,  cast  himself  upon  his  bed,  and 
lay  there  as  in  a  dream,  eyes  wide  open,  yet  seeing 


52   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

naught  but  the  vision  of  a  beautiful  girl  at  the  ham 
mock  on  the  island. 

Mona,  when  she  had  passed  out  of  his  sight,  and 
finding  herself  safe  from  observation,  increased  her 
speed  and  hurried  homeward  until  she  had  reached 
the  sitting  room,  almost  breathless,  and  immediately 
sought  her  mother's  side.  "Oh,  mother,  I  must  tell 
you;  I  have  just  parted  from  my  Fate,  the  loveliest 
and  most  interesting  man  I  ever  met,  and  he  is  com 
ing  to  my  retreat  to-morrow,  and  I  promised  to  meet 
him.  He  is  a  lawyer  whom  Papa  employed  to  come 
up  here  and  purchase  the  Smith  place,  and  he  has 
succeeded,  too.  Will  not  Papa  be  delighted?  I 
wish  he  were  here,  that  I  could  be  the  first  to  tell 
him  of  it." 

"Why,  daughter,  your  talk  is  nothing  less  than 
extravagant,  to  speak  of  a  man  as  your  Fate.  What 
does  it  mean?  You  have  heretofore  been  seemingly 
very  hard  to  please  with  men-folk.  Come,  explain 
yourself,  and  tell  me  where  you  met  this  paragon, 
and  who  introduced  you?" 

Thus  questioned,  the  true  situation  seemed  to 
overwhelm  the  young  lady,  and  she  was  at  a  loss 
for  words,  for  the  instant,  to  explain,  but  quickly 
recovering  her  equanimity,  she  related  the  finding  of 
a  handsome,  brown-eyed  man  in  her  hammock,  read- 


THE  FORCED  MEETING.  53 

ing  the  book  that  she  had  gone  to  recover.  She  pro 
duced  his  business  card,  and  related  all  that  had 
passed  between  them,  and  wound  up  by  saying  that 
she  was  certain  that  he  would  influence  her  future 
life.  The  mother  sat  in  silence,  and  wonderment  was 
depicted  in  her  countenance,  for  her  self -poised 
daughter  had  never  talked  extravagantly  before,  and 
she  was  at  a  loss  for  words.  She  feared  to  chide 
her  for  her  act  in  entertaining  a  stranger  whose  char 
acter  and  standing  were  entirely  unknown  to  them, 
lest  Mona  should  withhold  future  confidences  on  the 
subject.  She  was  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then 
said :  "Well,  daughter,  guard  well  your  feelings  from 
this  peerless  one  until  we  shall  all  meet  and  know 
him  and  learn  more  of  him.  Your  father  evidently 
selected  him  for  the  work  because  he  possessed  attri 
butes  suitable  to  the  undertaking,  and  craft  might 
have  been  all  that  was  needed  for  the  undertaking; 
but  you  want  to  find  more  than  craft  in  your  Fate- 
man.  Possess  and  restrain  yourself  well  in  any  other 
meetings  with  him,  and  when  your  father  comes,  tell 
him  all,  and  be  fully  advised  by  your  father,  who  is 
a  man  of  the  world  and  has  a  keen  insight  into  the 
character  of  men."  The  evening  passed  without  fur 
ther  reference,  by  either  Mona  or  her  mother,  to  the 
subject  that  filled  their  minds,  for  Mrs.  Daviclge  was 


54   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

very  much  concerned  about  the  unusual  enthusiasm 
of  her  daughter  concerning  this  stranger,  and 
watched  her  quiet  demeanor  that  evening  very 
closely,  but  without  comment. 

The  morning  dawned  brightly,  and  Mona  sang 
and  whistled  much  of  the  time  before  the  hour  of 
nine  arrived,  when  it  was  her  wont  to  go  to  her  cozy 
retreat.  She  had  taken  unusual  care  in  her  dress  that 
morning,  and  looked  well.  At  nine,  she  took  with 
her  copies  of  "Lucille"  and  "Geraldine,"  and  started 
from  the  house  down  the  path  to  the  hammock,  and 
upon  arriving  there  was  secretly  pleased  to  find  Mr. 
Guy  already  at  the  tryst.  He  deferentially  removed 
his  hat  and  advanced  to  meet  her,  with  his  hand 
extended  and  a  happy  smile  on  his  face,  saying 
gently :  "My  fair  inspiration  has  come  to  my  expec 
tant  heart,  and  I  am  happy.  My  fears  that  you 
would  not  come  have  but  served  to  enhance  my  hap 
piness,  and  I  thank  you  for  this  mark  of  confidence." 

"Did  you  think  that  I  would  retreat  from  my 
promise  and  break  my  usual  habit,  Mr.  Guy?"  asked 
Mona,  as  she  permitted  him  to  take  her  hand  and 
lead  her  to  the  hammock,  from  which  he  had  arisen 
on  her  approach.  "This  has  been  my  retreat  all 
summer,  besides  I  looked  forward  to  the  hour  of 
our  meeting  with  pleasure." 


THE  TRYST.  55 

This  was  said  with  the  honest  candor  of  an  unso 
phisticated  girl,  and  by  its  candor  surprised  the  man 
of  law  not  a  little,  for  he  had  expected  a  semblance 
of  deception  from  this  peerless  beauty,  instead  of 
the  frank  avowal  that  it  was  her  pleasure  to  come. 
He  recovered  himself  and  said :  "Are  you  not  timid 
about  coming  this  far  from  the  house,  where  your 
cries  could  hardly  reach  in  the  event  of  some  unprin 
cipled  intruder  attempting  to  molest  you?" 

"Oh,  no;  I  go  armed  always  up  here,"  and  from 
the  folds  of  her  dress  she  quickly  produced  a 
revolver  with  a  beautiful  mother-of-pearl  covered 
handle,  and  said:  "If  you  will  hold  up  your  hat,  I 
will  show  you  why  I  should  feel  safe.  No,  turn  it 
inside  toward  me,  and  I  will  give  you  a  vent-hole 
as  a  souvenir." 

She  scarcely  paused  after  raising  the  pistol,  when 
she  fired,  and  sent  a  ball  through  the  middle  of  the 
crown,  and  so  close  to  the  centre  that  the  manufac 
turer's  imprint  was  pierced. 

Mr.  Guy  caught  his  breath  with  surprise  and  no 
little  nervousness,  saying :  "I  think  you  are  safe  from 
any  predatory  invaders  of  your  sanctum,  and  I  cer 
tainly  thank  you  for  this  souvenir.  I  shall  keep  it 
forever." 

Miss  Davidge  laughed  lightly  at  his  enthusiasm, 


56   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

restored  her  revolver  to  her  pocket,  and  sat  down 
in  the  hammock.  Mr.  Guy  gazed  at  the  girl  thought 
fully  while  she  was  hunting  a  particular  passage  in 
"Lucille,"  which,  to  her,  seemed  but  a  brighter  cloth 
ing  of  the  same  thought  in  "Geraldine,"  and  when 
she  found  it  she  was  all  animation  and  enthusiasm 
in  reading  each  passage  and  discussing  it  from  her 
point  of  view.  Mr.  Guy  had  evidently  gotten  into 
a  mind-far-away  state,  for  her  first  remarks  did  not 
penetrate  his  understanding,  and  not  until  she  raised 
those  beautiful  gray-blue  eyes  to  his  in  expectancy 
of  reply,  did  he  realize  that  he  had  not  heard  what 
she  had  said.  He  failed  to  manifest  any  enthusiasm 
on  the  subject,  and  Mona  was  easily  led  into  a  dif 
ferent  channel  of  thought,  and  she  found  herself 
telling  of  her  life  in  Vassar,  and  of  her  chums,  whom 
she  expected  would  soon  visit  her  on  the  island. 

Mr.  Guy  seemed  to  lapse  into  a  state  of  reverie 
when  Mona's  replies  were  more  than  usually  lengthy, 
as  was  particularly  the  case  when  telling  about  their 
Greek-letter  society,  and  about  her  fears  when  under 
going  preparation  for  the  initiation  ceremony.  He 
led  her  to  talk  of  her  early  life  in  the  city  of  Erie, 
and  of  the  tender  care  of  her  mother  and  of  the  full 
ness  of  her  love  for  that  mother  to  whom  she  gave 
all  her  confidences.  Also  of  the  fact  that  her  mother 


THE  TRYST.  57 

had  all  the  story  of  her  having  found  him  in  the 
hammock. 

At  this  relation  he  was  not  a  little  disconcerted, 
for  he  asked :  "And  did  you  tell  her  that  we  had 
agreed  to  meet  here  to-day?" 

"Why,  of  course,  I  did,  and  she  knows  that  when 
I  left  the  piazza,  that  I  expected  to  meet  you  here 
upon  my  arrival." 

"And  did  she  consent  to  your  coming  here  to  meet 
a  stranger  all  alone?" 

"Yes,"  said  Mona;  "but  she  would  have  preferred 
that  you  should  have  come  to  the  house,  'like  a  gen 
tleman,'  as  she  expressed  it.  But  I  kissed  her  and 
told  her  that  I  liked  the  romantic  feature  to  be  con 
tinued  while  you  were  here,  and  she  consented  to 
my  coming.  But,  if  I  had  fired  my  revolver  twice, 
in  quick  succession,  she  would  have  released  Guard, 
our  big  mastiff,  and  he  would  have  been  here  to 
my  rescue  in  less  than  a  minute's  time,  and  woe 
betide  the  man,  be  he  friend  or  foe,  found  here,  for 
I  could  not  restrain  him  for  a  second. 

"Papa  bought  him  when  he  was  a  small  puppy, 
and  he  always  keeps  him  here  during  our  absence, 
and  when  I  am  here  in  the  summers,  he  is  my  pro 
tector.  Two  years  ago,  Mamma  and  I  planned  a 
rescue-scene  to  test  'Guard.'  I  put  on  a  thick  flannel 


58   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

bathing-suit,  and  we  planned  that  I  was  to  scream 
loudly  and  immediately  to  jump  into  the  water  right 
there  and  to  continue  to  scream.  Upon  my  first 
outcry,  mother  released  him,  and  merely  said,  'Find 
Mona,  Guard.' 

"You  should  have  seen  the  dear  dog.  It  didn't 
seem  possible  that  he  could  have  traversed  the  space 
between  here  and  the  house,  when  he  splashed  into 
the  water  and  swam  to  my  side.  He  seized  my  dress 
just  at  the  shoulder,  and  I  permitted  my  dead  weight 
to  hang,  as  though  unconscious,  and  you  can  see 
that  we  have  quite  a  current  here.  The  dear  fellow 
struggled  hard  and  pulled  me  to  that  spot  right  there 
and  held  me  above  water  until  he  could  regain 
strength  before  the  final  struggle  in  getting  me  up 
the  bank.  Mother  came  as  fast  as  she  could  to  see 
how  well  Guard  would  acquit  himself,  when  she 
came  to  his  assistance.  She  took  hold  of  my  arm, 
and  between  them  they  dragged  me  up  on  the  bank. 
Guard  never  released  the  firm  hold  that  he  had  on 
my  bathing-suit  until  they  had  pulled  me  up  on  the 
grass.  I  had  taken  the  precaution  to  put  a  strong 
belt  on  before  casting  myself  in,  so  that  he  could 
be  put  to  the  test  of  pulling  my  dead  weight  upon 
terra  firma.  When  I  showed  life  by  sitting  up,  the 
dear  dog's  pleasure  was  unbounded.  He  capered 


RALPH'S  CONFESSION.  59 

about  and  barked  his  delight  and  licked  my  face 
spasmodically,  and  would  jump  against  Mamma  for 
praise  and  petting.  He  showed  that  he  felt  proud 
of  the  rescue,  and  claimed  recognition  for  it." 

The  lunch  hour  was  fast  approaching  when  Ralph 
knew  that  he  must  take  his  leave,  and  his  appeal,  that 
was  burdening  his  mind  and  heart,  had  not  been 
spoken.  He  sought  the  side  of  Mona,  and  in  a  trem 
ulous  voice  said :  "Miss  Davidge — Mona,  I  must  take 
the  train  back  to  New  York  this  evening,  and  it  rests 
with  you  whether  my  heart  shall  be  buoyant  or  heavy 
when  I  again  take  up  my  work.  At  present,  I  can 
think  of  but  one  subject,  and  that  is  yourself  and 
our  future.  I  cannot  wait  until  your  sojourn  here 
is  ended  before  telling  you  of  my  undying  love  for 
you ;  I  never  before  met  a  woman  into  whose  keeping 
I  would  give  my  heart,  but  it  is  already  yours  to 
do  with  as  you  choose — to  trample  under  your  feet, 
or  to  take  into  your  own  heart  and  nurture  the  love 
I  have  already  given  you.  I  know  full  well  that  my 
happiness,  my  success  in  life,  my  very  existence, 
depends  upon  your  decision.  I  feel  that  I  must  see 
you  every  day  and  hour  to  be  happy  within  myself. 
Please  do  not  doubt  me,  nor  think  that  I  do  not  know 
my  own  mind  yet,  for,  from  the  moment  at  the  Ford 
when  your  beautiful  blue  eyes  looked  into  mine,  I 


60   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

felt  that  I  must  have  you  for  my  wife,  and  I  planned 
our  first  meeting,  and,  though  I  had  then  completed 
the  business  that  brought  me  here,  and  had  a  press 
ing  cause  for  my  early  return,  I  was  helpless  to  tear 
myself  away  until  I  had  unburdened  my  thoughts  to 
you.  Pray  tell  me,  truly,  do  you  feel  that  you  could 
love  me  and  be  my  wife?  I  know  that  the  test  ques 
tion,  the  answer  to  which  can  alone  come  from  wom 
an's  heart  when  deciding  the  important  question  on 
whicli  hangs  the  fate  of  two  beings,  whether  you 
feel  that  you  could  endure  for  a  lifetime  the  daily 
and  hourly  presence  of  the  man  who  tells  you  of  his 
love;  and  whether  the  closer  relation  of  husband 
would  be  endurable  forever,  ought  to  be  fully,  care 
fully  weighed.  But  give  me  hope  that  you  will  give 
friendly  entertainment  to  the  proposal  whether  you 
will  be  my  wife.  My  professional  prospects  are 
good,  and  I  have  money  already  saved  for  a  rainy 
day,  so  that  your  life  would  be  one  of  ease  and  men 
tal  training.  May  I  hope?" 

Mona  looked  up  into  his  pleading  eyes  frankly  and 
honestly,  and  arose  to  stand  before  him  while  speak 
ing,  and  said:  "Mr.  Guy,  I  am  not  unmoved  by 
your  declaration,  neither  am  I  indifferent  as  to  its 
outcome.  It  is  not  unmaidenly  to  admit  that  I  am 
drawn  to  you  by  no  uncertain  feeling.  I  feel  that 


MISS  DAVIDGE'S  ANSWER.  61 

I  could  love  you,  but  I  do  not  know  it.  Neither  can 
you  know  that  you  love  me.  Neither  of  us  can 
fathom  the  peculiar  features  of  our  hidden  natures. 
Character  is  never  an  open  book  printed  in  cold  type, 
in  which  a  study  of  it  might  be  made.  Only  the 
trials  of  life  and  the  uncovering  of  our  several 
weaknesses  can  inform  us  whether  a  life  with  the 
other  would  be  endurable  and  produce  happiness. 
The  supreme  test  is  a  knowledge  of  each  other.  I 
must  insist  upon  conditions  before  I  would  enter  into 
marriage  relations  with  any  man,  and  unless  you 
would  agree  to  those  conditions,  I  could  not  seriously 
entertain  the  subject  of  union  with  you  in  a  mar 
riage  ceremony,  even  though  I  now  feel  that  my 
heart  is  for  the  first  time  appealing  in  your  behalf." 

"Miss  Davidge — Mona — you  cannot  impose  any 
conditions,  howsoever  severe,  that  I  will  not  readily 
and  willingly  consent  to,  if  only  at  the  end  I  can 
fold  you  to  my  heart  and  call  you  my  wife." 

"Please,  Mr.  Guy,  stay  your  rash  promises  until 
you  hear  me  name  those  conditions — the  only  true 
test  of  love.  Father  knows  my  principles,  and  is 
willing  to  aid  me  when  the  test  comes.  I  am  not  a 
follower  of  Ibsen  or  Shaw,  but  I  hold  that  the  bond 
of  marriage  should  not  be  entered  into  until  we  shall 
know  each  other,  and  know  that  a  summer  romance 


62   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

is  not  love.  I  desire  fully  to  know  the  man  before 
I  yield  myself  to  him  as  wife;  and  to  know  positively 
that  there  is  a  mutual  love  existing  between  us  that 
will  stand  the  test  of  time  and  the  conflict  of  ideals, 
and  to  that  end  I  propose  to  enter  upon  a  proba 
tionary  period  of  time,  say  for  six  months,  during 
which  time  I  will  be  his  housekeeper  and  companion, 
having  my  own  apartment  under  his  roof,  but  being 
mistress  of  my  body  while  we  study  each  other,  and 
know,  completely  know,  that  love,  pure  love,  exists 
between  us,  apart  from  the  animal  love  of  man; 
then,  and  not  until  then,  would  I  give  myself  in  mar 
riage.  If  you  agree  to  this,  then,  when  you  shall 
have  talked  the  matter  over  with  papa  in  a  business 
like  way,  signed  the  pact,  and  which  I,  too,  will 
sign,  you  may  call  at  our  town  house.  I  have  no 
cant  to  air  nor  philosophy  to  preach,  but  I  am  con 
scientiously  determined  to  know  the  man  I  wed 
\  before  it  is  too  late,  lest  my  life  and  happiness  be 
wrecked.  I  have  the  courage  to  carry  out  my 
part  of  the  contract,  and  if  we  find  ourselves  suited 
for  the  closer  ties  of  marriage  and  unselfish  love,  not 
mere  romance,  then  a  life  of  happiness  may  be  ours 
until  death  parts  us." 

"Miss    Davidge,    I    like    your    philosophy,    and 
unequivocally  surrender  to  it.    You  have  told  me  of 


RALPH'S  CONFIDENCE.  63 

your  studies  of  law,  and  I  am  sure  that  your  insight 
into  technicalities  has  led  you  to  this  test  of  life's 
problems.  I  will  agree  to  all  your  conditions,  and 
the  six  months  of  probation  will  be  a  happy,  daily 
courtship  and  study.  I  have  faults  that  you  shall 
know  before  marriage,  and  I  am  assured  of  six 
months  of  happiness.  Will  you  please  seal  our  pre 
liminary  promise  of  compact  with  a  kiss?  Please, 
dear." 

Mona  looked  up  into  his  luminous  eyes,  pleading 
and  tender,  and  raised  her  face  to  his,  and  Ralph 
clasped  her  tendery  but  resolutely,  and  kissed  her 
fervently  until  she  moved  in  his  arms,  when  he 
released  her.  "Dearest  Mona,  this  hallowed  kiss 
will  be  my  inspiration  and  my  hope  until  I  shall  see 
you  again." 

He  watched  Mona's  form  as  long  as  it  was  in 
sight,  and  when  a  turn  in  the  path  hid  her  from 
his  view,  he  sighed  audibly,  and  turned  toward  the 
hammock,  and  went  to  it  and  sat  down,  his  mind 
filled  with  esctasy.  He  said  aloud:  "By  George, 
she  is  a  lovely  girl,  and  I  am  to  be  congratulated. 
I'll  do  my  best  to  win  her,  and  I  think  she  is  already 
very  nearly  in  love  with  me,  or  she  would  not  have 
allowed  me  to  kiss  her.  I  wonder  if  she  will  tell  her 


64   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

mother  that  she  has  permitted  me  to  kiss  her? 
What  lovely,  honest  eyes  she  has !" 

He  remained  in  the  hammock,  where  Mona  had 
sat  but  a  few  minutes  before,  bent  forward  and 
resting  his  chin  upon  his  hands,  with  elbows  on  his 
knees,  meditatively.  Thus  he  sat  for  some  time 
quietly,  then,  rising,  started  for  his  boat,  got  in,  and 
rowed  to  the  landing,  paid  the  hire,  and  started  for 
the  Updyke  place  across  the  fields. 

When  he  reached  there,  he  lay  down  in  the  ham 
mock,  resting  one  foot  on  the  ground,  and  kept  the 
hammock  swinging  slowly  while  he  meditated  over 
the  progress  he  had  made,  and  planning  what  his 
next  move  would  be.  Having  told  her  that  he  was 
going  to  New  York  that  day  he  could  not  find  a 
sensible  excuse  for  another  interview.  If  he  had  not 
committed  himself  to  an  early  return,  he  might  have 
followed  up  the  advantage  he  had  gained,  and,  per 
haps,  clinched  the  matter.  He  thought  it  best  to  go, 
and  to  that  end  he  went  to  his  room  to  do  his  pack 
ing.  This  done,  he  settled  for  his  board  and 
requested  that  his  trunk  be  sent  to  the  station.  He 
was  not  in  a  mood  to  talk  to  any  person  about  the 
house,  therefore  he  walked  out  into  the  orchard,  and 
after  walking  aimlessly  about  for  some  time,  he  lay 
down  under  a  tree  and  built  and  decorated  air  cas- 


RALPH  RETURNS.  65 

ties  for  an  hour  or  two  before  he  started  for  the 
station.  The  restless  condition  that  he  found  him 
self  in  precluded  sitting  in  the  musty  station,  so  he 
paced  the  platform  until  the  train  came  in,  when  he 
got  aboard  and  entered  the  sleeper,  where  he  could 
secure  privacy  by  a  semblance  of  sleep,  which  he 
did. 

As  soon  as  he  could  have  his  berth  made  up,  he 
retired,  but  not  to  sleep.  He  was  too  unsettled  as  to 
how  he  would  approach  Mr.  Davidge  on  the  sub 
ject.  He  reasoned  that  Mr.  Davidge  had  some  par 
ticular  reason  for  selecting  him  for  this  important 
mission,  which  he  had  accomplished  satisfactorily, 
and  he  concluded  that  the  best  time  to  plead  his 
case  was  when  that  gentleman  was  feeling  good  over 
his  having  acquired  the  land,  which  he  desired  so 
badly.  Visions  of  his  successful  matrimonial  mat 
ter,  with  an  almost  certain  business  association  with 
Mr.  Davidge,  filled  his  mind  to  the  exclusion  of 
sleep,  so  that  it  was  well  into  the  night  when  his 
mind  yielded  to  sleep. 

He  awoke  early,  and  the  question  again  took  pos 
session  of  him,  and  the  perplexing  thought  again 
questioned  him  and  wanted  an  answer  as  to  where 
Mr.  Davidge  had  seen  him;  was  it  when  he  was  in 
the  court  some  time  making  a  motion  or  pleading 


66   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

a  case?  If  he  could  solve  that  problem,  he  would 
know  better  how  to  estimate  his  chances. 

He  arrived  at  the  Grand  Central  station  at  about 
seven  o'clock,  and  took  a  cab  to  his  rooms 
immediately. 

Arriving  there,  he  took  as  little  time  as  possible 
to  get  a  light  breakfast  and  a  shave  before  starting 
down  to  his  office,  and  skimmed  over  the  accumu 
lated  mail,  when  he  was  ready  to  call  on  Mr.  Dav- 
idge,  long  before  the  hour  that  that  gentleman  was 
wont  to  reach  his  office. 

While  waiting  for  the  time  to  call  upon  Mr. 
Davidge,  Ralph  went  over  a  number  of  terse 
speeches  to  himself  for  the  introduction  of  the  one 
subject  that  lay  in  and  occupied  his  mind  and 
heart,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else,  discarding  each  as 
flat  or  too  vehement,  and  finally  decided  that  he 
would  let  the  conditions  prompt  him  when  the  time 
was  ripe  for  his  proposition.  He  was  in  too  excited 
a  state  of  mind  to  sit  quietly,  but  he  paced  his  office 
back  and  forth,  watching  the  clock  on  the  street 
fronting  the  Hoffman  House,  with  his  hands  thrust 
deep  in  his  pockets. 

While  Ralph  was  not  overcome  with  consuming 
love  for  Mona,  he  admired  her  more  than  he  had 
ever  permitted  himself  to  think  of  any  young  woman 


THE  PROPOSAL.  67 

before.  He  had  an  aspiration  to  be  a  man  of  means 
before  settling  down  as  a  married  man,  but  the 
prospect  of  winning  this  particular  woman  and 
establishing  himself  in  a  law  firm  like  that  of  which 
Mr.  Davidge  was  the  leading  member  was  BO  allur 
ing  that  he  was  very  much  unsettled  and  nervous. 

When  he  did  arrive  at  Mr.  Davidge's  office,  he 
learned  that  he  was  still  too  early,  that  the  lawyer 
had  not  yet  arrived,  and  was  about  to  kill  the  time 
in  a  walk  around  the  corridor,  when  Mr.  Davidge 
stepped  out  of  the  elevator,  and,  recognizing  him, 
they  grasped  hands  in  a  cordial  manner,  and  Mr. 
Davidge  invited  him  to  enter  the  office. 

Mr.  Davidge,  before  entering  upon  business  with 
Ralph,  glanced  over  the  pile  of  letters  on  his  desk, 
when  he  suddenly  swung  around  in  his  chair  and 
abruptly  asked:  "Well,  do  I  get  the  farm?" 

Ralph's  mind  was  not  on  the  farm-purchasing 
business  that  brought  him  there,  hence  he  was 
startled  by  the  inquiry,  but,  rallying  quickly,  he 
responded:  "Yes,  I  purchased  the  farm;  I  had  the 
deed  recorded,  and  paid  thirty-five  hundred  for  it. 
If  you  desire,  I  will  write  a  deed  transferring  it  to 
you." 

Mr.  Davidge  manifested  much  gratification  at  the 
accomplishment  of  his  pet  desire,  and  said:  "I  am 


68   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

delighted  to  hear  that,  and  I  want  to  thank  you. 
That  piece  of  land  will  just  round  out  my  posses 
sions  there  to  a  nicety."  He  touched  the  bell,  and 
told  the  messenger  to  ask  Mr.  Mitchell  to  come  to 
his  room.  Upon  Mr.  Mitchell  coming  in,  he  took 
up  the  memorandum  describing  the  property,  and 
told  him  to  draw  up  a  deed  transferring  the  prop 
erty  from  Mr.  Ralph  Guy  to  George  Davidge,  the 
consideration  being  one  dollar. 

That  business  being  disposed  of,  he  asked  Ralph 
what  kind  of  a  time  he  had,  and  if  there  was  good 
fishing. 

With  flushed  face,  Ralph  said  that  he  had  enjoyed 
himself  very  much,  and  then  abruptly  said:  "Mr. 
David'ge,  it  was  my  fortune  to  meet  your  daughter 
while  up  there,  and,  to  put  it  just  as  I  feel,  I  love 
your  daughter,  and  wish  to  make  a  formal  proposi 
tion  to  you  for  her  hand  in  marriage!" 

It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the 
inward  agitation  from  which  he  had  been  suffering, 
that  he  should  be  startled  at  the  sudden  change  that 
came  over  Mr.  Davidge's  countenance,  accompanied 
with  a  stiffening  up  of  the  body.  Mr.  Davidge 
paled,  and  was  perceptibly  angered.  When  he 
ipoke,  the  voice  had  lost  its  cordiality,  and  he 
appeared  the  lawyer  confronting  a  perverse  wit- 


RALPH'S  DISCOMFITURE.  69 

ness,  when  he  said :  ''Mr.  Guy,  this  unfortunate 
mixing  of  sentiments  and  business  is  not  to  my 
taste.  I  will  not  entertain  the  subject  at  this 
business  meeting.  I  see  two  letters  here,  one 
from  my  daughter  and  one  from  my  wife,  which 
your  early  coming  has  prevented  me  the  pleas 
ure  of  reading.  We  will  resume  the  matter  of  the 
purchase  of  the  farm,  which  brought  you  here." 

It  was  pitiful  to  witness  the  utter  discomfort  of 
Ralph.  The  perspiration  broke  out  over  his  face, 
and  he  looked  as  though  on  the  point  of  collapsing. 
He  recovered  somewhat  while  he  was  engaged  in 
searching  for  the  memorandum  in  his  pocket,  rind 
ing  which,  he  handed  it  to  Mr.  Davidge. 

Mr.  Davidge  read  from  the  paper.  "I  see  that  of 
the  five  thousand  dollars  which  I  gave  you  to  trans 
act  the  purchase  of  the  farm,  you  expended  thirty- 
five  hundred  for  the  farm,  your  expenses  were 
(pausing  for  Guy  to  fill  in)  one  hundred  and  sev 
enty-five  dollars,  which  left  a  balance  of  thirteen 
hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars.  I  told  you  I  was 
willing  to  pay  five  thousand  for  the  place.  Will  you 
feel  amply  repaid  by  the  retention  of  the  balance  of 
the  five  thousand  dollars?  I  want  you  to  feel  per 
fectly  and  fully  satisfied.  Name  the  sum." 


70      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Guy's  lips  and  mouth  were  dry,  and  it  required 
an  effort  to  collect  himself  and  gain  his  voice. 

"Sir,  I  believe  one  thousand  dollars  will  amply 
satisfy  me,  and  I  will  send  you  a  check  for  three 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  upon  my  return  to  my 
office." 

"Very  well,  Mr.  Guy;  if  I  desire  to  speak  of — 
that  other  matter — to  you,  I  will  communicate  with 
you."  Arising  from  his  chair,  Mr.  Davidge  termi 
nated  the  interview  by  extending  his  hand  to  Guy, 
and  said :  "I  will  send  the  deed  to  you  for  your  sig 
nature  to-day,  and  I  again  want  to  express  my 
thanks  for  your  success  in  securing  the  property  for 
me." 

Guy  left  the  office,  scarcely  knowing  what  he 
replied  to  Mr.  Davidge,  and  caring  less,  for  he  felt 
not  only  resentful  for  the  cruel  rebuff  that  his  pro 
posal  received,  but  he  felt  that  he  had  earned  by  his 
precipitation  the  opposition  of  the  girl's  father  at  the 
very  threshold  of  his  efforts. 

Guy  went  from  the  building  in  a  dazed  manner, 
and  started  aimlessly  up  Wall  Street  to  Broadway, 
and  turned  thence  north,  mingling  in  the  rushing 
throng  that  that  thoroughfare  accommodates  all  day 
and  especially  in  the  early  morning  hours  of  busi 
ness.  Bumping  against  the  hurrying  ones  going 


RALPH'S  TREPIDATION.  71 

south,  he  continued  until  he  was  at  the  City  Hall, 
where  he  met  the  crowd  from  the  Bridge,  which 
gave  him  a  thought  that  he  wanted  to  escape  the 
throng,  so  that  his  head  could  get  cleared-up  before 
he  went  to  his  office,  where  he  would  be  likely  to 
meet  his  neighbors  of  the  corridor.  He  paid  his 
penny  and  started  out  on  the  pedestrian  way.  He 
felt  feverish,  and  he  removed  his  hat  and  permitted 
the  breezes  to  play  on  his  hot  head.  When  he  was 
out  over  the  channel,  he  leaned  leisurely  against  the 
big  cord  that  is  one  of  the  mainstays  of  that 
immense  structure,  and  looked  down  as  though  con 
templating  a  leap  that  would  put  to  rest  his  aching 
heart  and  head.  A  policeman  noticed  him,  and 
stopped  near  him,  as  though  he  interpreted  the  inner 
thoughts  of  tlie  dejected  mortal  gazing  down  into 
the  current  so  many  feet  below.  Guy,  as  though  he 
felt  the  intent  gaze  of  the  officer,  turned  his  head 
until  their  eyes  met,  when  he  replaced  his  hat  and 
continued  his  walk  to  the  Brooklyn  side,  where  he 
took  the  turn  to  the  other  side  and  purchased  a 
ticket  to  the  bridge  cars,  entered  and  took  a  seat, 
without  scanning  the  crowd  accompanying  him. 
With  a  deeply  drawn  sigh,  he  compared  his  hopes 
and  aspirations  of  the  past  forty-eight  hours  with 
his  certain  disappointment  of  to-day.  He  regretted 


72   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

that  he  had  not  remained  a  few  days  longer,  and 
made  certain  of  anchoring  himself  firmly  in  the  love 
of  Mona,  before  saying  anything  to  the  father,  in 
the  hope  that  the  young  lady  might  have  gained  the 
favor  of  the  father  that  he  had  this  morning 
forfeited. 

When  he  had  reached  Manhattan,  he  felt  some 
what  clearer  in  mind,  and  took  a  surface  car  to  his 
office.  He  went  to  his  office-room,  and  upon  enter 
ing,  closed  and  locked  the  door,  and  commenced 
the  restless  pacing  back  and  forth  that  the  tireless 
caged  panther  keeps  up.  There  we  will  leave  him 
with  his  misery,  and  return  to  the  office  of  the  irri 
tated  Mr.  Davidge. 

When  Guy  bowed  himself  out,  Mr.  Davidge  took 
up  the  letters  of  his  wife  and  daughter,  and  open 
ing  that  of  his  daughter  first,  he  sought  the  true  his 
tory  of  the  love  affair,  never  doubting  but  the  truth 
in  full  would  be  found  there,  and  which  would  fully 
acquaint  him  of  the  situation.  It  read : 

"DEAREST  AND  BEST  OE  FATHERS: — 

"I  am  feeling  particularly  near  to  you  this 
moment,  and  I  know  you  are  thinking  of  me,  for  I 
am  loving  you,  Pop,  real  love,  more  than  any  per 
son  else.  You  have  always  been  kind  and  good  to 


MONA'S  CONFESSION.  73 

me,  even  when  I  was  incorrigibly  bad,  and  it  does 
not  matter  what  other  love  enters  my  heart  and  life, 
my  love  for  you,  who  rescued  me  from  a  life  that 
might  have  been  poverty  and  toil,  misery  and  death, 
shall  ever  reign  supreme.  I  have  told  you  this  so 
often,  Pop,  that  you  ought  to  believe  it. 

"I  wish,  just  now,  that  I  was  on  your  knee,  and 
my  arms  around  your  neck,  as  they  have  been  so 
many  hundred  times,  so  that  I  could  whisper  in  your 
ear  and  tell  you  of  a  young  and  handsome  man, 
with  full  brown  eyes  and  a  tender  mouth,  who  made 
love  to  me  on  our  second  meeting,  and  who,  no 
doubt,  will  call  on  you  soon.  I  didn't  tell  him  that 
he  might  speak  to  you,  and,  in  fact,  he  failed  to 
make  such  a  request  of  me,  but  I  suspect  he  will. 
Anyway,  I  want  you  to  know  that  those  brown  eyes 
and  tender  mouth  saw  me  first  at  Trout  Ford — I  on 
horseback,  and  he  in  a  buggy  with  the  Smiths.  Next 
I  saw  him  last  Thursday  after  lunch,  in  my  ham 
mock,  in  'my  shady  nook,'  reading  my  book.  We 
talked  of  books  and  authors,  and  he  asked  the  privi 
lege  of  meeting  me  there  on  the  morrow,  introduced 
himself  as  Mr.  Ralph  Guy,  gave  me  his  card,  and 
told  me  that  he  was  here  on  business  for  you.  Upon 
that  representation,  and  because  I  liked  him  at  first 
sight,  and  his  gentle  voice  afterwards,  I  consented. 


74   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Upon  our  second  meeting,  we  were  there  together  a 
couple  of  hours,  and  he  told  me  the  old,  old  tale  in 
such  a  sweet,  pleading  way  that  I  think  I  love  him. 
I  permitted  him  to  kiss  me  good-bye,  so,  Pop,  yon 
must  know  that  I  liked  him  very  much.  If  he  had 
not  shown  me  that  you  had  entrusted  him  with 
important  business,  I  would  not  have  entertained 
him  the  second  time.  Now,  Pop,  you  have  it  all.  I 
submit  my  case  to  you,  and  will  pay  you  a  retainer 
in  a  kiss  of  dutiful  and  abiding  love,  and  will  be 
advised  by  you.  I  will  not  write  him  if  he  writes 
me,  though  there  was  nothing  said  on  this  subject, 
but  will  send  his  communications  to  my  attorney. 
I  would  not  think  of  seeing  him,  or  trusting  myself 
to  decide  as  to  whether  I  believe  I  love  him,  until 
I  come  to  New  York  in  September,  for  I  don't  know 
but  his  soul-windows  may  be  only  treacherous,  lur 
ing  beacons,  inviting  safety  on  a  dangerous  coast, 
and  his  silvery,  modulated  voice  may  be  the  trained 
actor's  part  in  the  Drama  of  Life.  In  any  event, 
Pop,  I  must  insist  upon  a  contract  for  six  months' 
probationary  period  of  house  and  home  life,  of 
which  I  have  often  spoken  to  you.  I  must  know  my 
own  mind  and  my  heart  before  I  will  be  married,  and 
I  must  be  able  to  study  the  heart  and  characteristics 
of  the  man  to  whom  I  will  give  my  hand  and  heart 


THE  PACT.  75 

before  doing  so.  This  must  be  in  the  bond,  and  I 
shall  enter  upon  the  probationary  life  for  a  period  of 
six  months;  must  have  my  own  apartment  (at  least 
one  room)  ;  must  be  mistress  of  my  own  person,  but 
otherwise  will  be  the  same  as  a  wife  to  the  man  of 
my  choice.  I  would  prefer  that  I  join  in  the  expen 
ses  of  housekeeping,  the  half  of  which  I  will  defray 
weekly  or  monthly.  I  will  clothe  myself  entirely 
for  that  period.  He  or  I  can  entertain  our  respective 
friends  as  we  wish.  I  will  not  go  out  with  other 
gentlemen  during  the  probationary  period,  and  will 
be  held  out  to  the  world  by  him  as  his  future  wife, 
now  companion  and  housekeeper.  New  York  City 
must  be  my  residence  throughout  that  period. 

"Of  course,  Pop,  you  must  tell  my  true  birth  and 
my  paternity,  and  that  you,  my  best  of  fathers,  are 
my  uncle.  Your  loving  and  trustful 

"MONA." 

"P.  S. — I  am  adding  a  postscript,  Pop,  because  it 
would  never  do  to  mix  things  mundane  with  things 
spiritual,  such  as  currant-jam  with  kisses  or  butter 
nuts  with  dimples,  but  I  wish  to  tell  you  that  I  have 
engaged  butternuts  for  you,  and  we  will  put  up  cur 
rant  jellies  and  jams  for  you  next  week.  We  always 
have  the  subject  of  'Husband  and  Father'  at  table, 


76   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

even  if  it  is  only  to  express  the  wish  that  'Pop'  was 
with  us.  "MoNA." 

Mr.  Davidge's  eyes  were  moist  while  reading  the 
letter  from  his  daughter,  and  he  sat  thinking 
intensely  for  a  few  moments  before  folding  it  up 
and  replacing  it  in  its  envelope,  before  taking  up 
that  of  his  wife,  which  he  read  mechanically,  until 
she  entered  upon  the  subject  of  Mona's  attachment 
for  a  stranger  whom  she  found  snugly  ensconsed  in 
her  hammock.  She  added  nothing  new  on  the  sub 
ject,  and  it  was  manifest  that  she  had  no  fears  for 
her  daughter,  but  that  she  trusted  her  fully. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Davidge  had  finished  reading  the 
two  letters,  he  touched  the  bell,  and  upon  the  boy 
appearing,  he  directed  him  to  call  up  the  Pinkerton 
Detective  Agency,  and  to  let  him  know  when  he 
got  them.  In  a  few  minutes  the  boy  informed  him 
that  they  were  waiting,  when  Mr.  Davidge  entered 
the  booth  and  talked  long  and  earnestly  with  Robert 
Pinkerton,  requesting  him  to  get  for  him  the  life 
history  of  Mr.  Ralph  Guy,  a  young  lawyer  in  the 
Flatiron;  his  parentage,  with  whom  he  chummed, 
visited  and  lived,  and  to  render  a  written  report, 
not  forgetting  the  character  of  amusements  he 
attended,  and  his  habits. 


RALPH'S  HISTORY.  77 

After  emerging  from  the  booth,  Mr.  Davidge 
entered  upon  his  day's  work  by  opening  and  read 
ing  his  mail  and  dictating  replies  to  his  stenographer, 
and  showing  that  the  case  placed  in  his  hands  by 
Mona  was  disposed  of  for  the  present. 

A  fortnight  elapsed  before  he  heard  from  the 
Pinkertons,  announcing  that  they  were  ready  to 
report  on  the  Guy  case,  and  that  Mr.  Robert  Pink- 
erton  would  call  in  person  whenever  it  pleased  Mr. 
Davidge  to  make  an  engagement. 

An  appointment  was  made  for  five  in  the  even 
ing,  and  at  that  hour  Mr.  Pinkerton  called. 

The  report  showed  that  Mr.  Guy's  life  had 
started  at  his  birth  in  Orange  County,  New  York; 
his  father  was  a  farmer  and  dairyman,  a  man  of 
small  means,  with  a  reputation  for  honesty  and  prob 
ity.  Guy  the  second  was  one  of  three  children, 
whose  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm;  he  then 
taught  school  in  the  village,  and  earned  funds  for  an 
academic  education,  graduated  with  credit  to  him 
self,  and  had  studied  law  at  Buffalo,  making  his 
home  with  a  family  relative.  He  worked  as  stenog 
rapher  to  defray  his  expenses,  always  paying  his 
board,  and  appearing  well-dressed,  keeping  aloof 
from  society,  except  that  of  the  relatives  where  he 
boarded.  He  attended  the  Methodist  Church,  and 


78   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

took  a  deep  interest  in  the  Endeavor  Society,  and 
also  a  literary  society.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  Buffalo,  and  immediately  moved  to  New  York 
and  opened  an  office  as  attorney,  or  rather  hired 
desk-room  in  a  law  office,  for  which  firm  he  did 
certain  copying,  in  payment  for  his  office  room. 
For  three  years  he  worked  at  stenography  and  law, 
and  led  a  quiet  life,  seldom  going  to  the  theatre  or 
church,  was  studious,  and  had  but  few  friends.  His 
friends,  principally,  were  those  of  a  studious  kind, 
young  lawyers  and  law  students.  He  earned  some 
money  by  teaching  a  class  of  young  law  students, 
and  presided  as  Judge  at  their  student-courts.  He 
had  no  investments,  but  had  about  $4,000  in  bank 
deposits.  He  was  a  temperate  and  upright  man,  as 
far  as  could  be  found. 

Mr.  Davidge  paid  the  detective  his  bill  by  check, 
and  then  called  his  stenographer  and  dictated  the 
following : 

"Mr.  Ralph  Guy, 

"Flatiron  Building,  New  York. 

"DEAR  SIR  :  It  will  now  give  me  pleasure  to  con 
fer  with  you  on  that  other  matter  referred  to  by 
you  when  last  in  my  office.  If  it  will  be  agreeable 
to  you,  I  wish  that  you  would  join  me  at  dinner 


ELATED,  BUT  NERVOUS.  79 

at  my  hotel,  The  Regent,  on  Saturday  next  at  six 
p.  m.    We  will  dine  alone.    No  dress. 
"Respectfully, 

"GEORGE  DAVIDGE." 

This  letter  disposed  of,  Mr.  Davidge  went  to  his 
hotel  to  dine. 

To  say  that  Mr.  Guy  was  translated,  as  it  were, 
to  heaven,  when  he  received  this  summons  to  dine 
with  Mr.  Davidge  for  the  purpose  of  a  confer 
ence  on  the  subject  of  his  proposal  for  the  hand  of 
Miss  Davidge,  is  putting 'it  in  a  mild  form,  for  the 
poor  fellow  had  been  very  much  depressed  during  all 
the  weary  days  elapsing  since  that  horrible  moment 
of  his  blunder.  His  letter  to  Mona  had  remained 
unanswered,  and  he  fully  realized  that  he  had  fatally 
blundered  in  pushing  his  love  affair  on  the  heels 
of  the  business  matter  with  Mr.  Davidge,  and  he 
feared  in  his  zeal  he  had  lost  all. 

At  the  appointed  time,  he  sent  up  his  card  to  Mr. 
Davidge,  and  was  uneasy  and  nervous  until  the  boy 
returned  and  called  his  name,  and  was  told  that  Mr. 
Davidge  would  be  right  down. 

The  next  minute  he  heard  the  clank  of  the  door 
to  the  elevator,  and  Mr.  Davidge  made  his  appear 
ance,  when  there  was  a  friendly  handshake,  and  Mr. 


80   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Davidge  said  that  they  would  go  into  dinner.  They 
entered  the  dining  room  and  were  escorted  to  a  small 
table  in  the  corner,  where  they  were  without 
neighbors. 

During  the  course  of  the  dinner,  conversation  was 
generally  led  by  Mr.  Davidge  along  the  lines  of 
peculiar  and  outre  decisions  of  the  courts,  drawing 
out  the  younger  man's  acquaintanceship  with  their 
important  details,  and  discussing  the  peculiar  rulings 
of  the  Appellate  Division.  This  was  done  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  place  Guy  on  a  pleasant  plane  with 
Mr.  Davidge.  This  line  of  conversation  was  car 
ried  on  until  coffee  and  cigars  were  introduced, 
when  Mr.  Davidge  said :  "My  daughter,  or  really 
my  niece,  has  written  me  fully  relative  to  your  meet 
ing  when  you  were  up  country  a  short  time  ago,  and 
it  was  for  the  purpose  of  talking  over  that  sub 
ject  and  her  intentions  that  I  invited  you  to  dinner 
this  evening. 

"Mona  is  not  my  daughter,  except  by  adoption. 
She  is  the  only  child  of  my  brother,  now  deceased. 
Her  mother  died  during  her  infancy,  a  broken 
hearted  woman.  The  marriage  of  her  parents  was 
an  unfortunate  affair ;  they  were  both  young,  and  nei 
ther  had  known  the  other  but  for  a  few  weeks — they 
believing  it  a  case  of  love  at  first  sight — and  know- 


MONA'S   HISTORY.  81 

ing  nothing  of  each  other's  disposition.  The  mar 
riage  was  an  utter  failure,  resulting  in  the  departure 
of  her  father  in  a  fit  of  temper  incident  upon  a  trivial 
family  matter.  My  brother  was  an  impulsive,  quick 
tempered  man,  unrelenting  and  proud  of  spirit.  His 
young  wife,  without  knowledge  of,  or  experience  in, 
the  world,  wept  herself  into  the  grave,  and  Mona, 
only  a  few  months  old,  came  into  our  lives  as  soon 
as  her  mother's  death  and  burial  were  over. 

"The  history  of  her  mother's  sad  death  has  had  its 
influence  upon  her,  and  she  is  resolved  that  she  shall 
not  fall  into  the  same  irretrievable  error  that  her 
mother  did,  hence  she  demands  a  probationary 
period  of  disposition  and  character  study,  under 
contract,  signed  and  witnessed,  for  six  months' 
time,  she  occupying  her  own  sleeping  room, 
but  otherwise  living  the  life  of  a  wife.  She  must  be 
held  out  to  the  world  as  Miss  Mona  Davidge,  your 
betrothed;  be  at  the  head  of  your  table,  and  in  all 
things  and  under  all  circumstances  be  respected  and 
treated  in  the  manner  that  she  shall  merit.  While 
this  bond  or  contract  shall  be  drawn  to  expire  at 
the  end  of  six  months,  it  may  be  terminated  at  any 
time  at  the  wish  of  either  party.  Mona  insists  that 
the  contract  shall  provide,  for  an  equal  payment  of 
the  household  and  living  expenses,  weekly  or  month- 


82      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

ly.  She  will  undertake  to  keep  an  exact  account  of 
the  expenses,  will  care  for  your  welfare,  your 
apparel,  your  rooms,  and,  in  fact,  be  a  wife  to  you, 
except  that  her  person  shall  be  inviolate  during  that 
probationary  period,  when,  if  both  are  willing,  a 
public  marriage  may  ensue,  with  witnesses. 

"This  life  is  to  be  open  and  above  board,  nothing 
to  be  ashamed  of  nor  hidden.  She  will  be  constant 
to  you  and  your  interests,  until  such  time  as  she 
or  you  may  see  that  you  are  not  suited  for  each 
other,  when  a  settlement  of  the  matter  will  take 
place,  as  provided  in  the  bond.  This  is  the  basis  of 
her  ideal,  and  she  is  firm  in  her  determination  to 
know  the  man  she  weds  before  she  weds,  and  he 
ought  to  know  her  the  same  way.  Her  object  is  to 
avert  the  fate  of  her  broken-hearted  mother,  if 
possible. 

"You  can  think  this  all  over.  Mona  will  not  be  at 
home  until  September,  and  she  desires  to  test  her 
heart  until  that  time,  uninfluenced  by  any  sentimen 
tal  appeals  from  you,  hence  there  is  to  be  no  corre 
spondence  between  you. 

"These  may  seem  too  hard  lines  for  ardent  young 
hearts,  but  Mona  has  resolved  upon  such  a  course, 
and  I  would  not  say  a  word  to  turn  her  from  her 
ideal." 


RALPH  SENTIMENTAL.  83 

Mr.  Guy  listened  with  rapt  attention  throughout, 
and  at  the  finish  arose  and  extended  his  hand  to  Mr. 
Davidge,  and  said :  "Mr.  Davidge,  I  do  not,  nor  can 
I,  find  a  single  flaw  in  Miss  Mona's  ideals.  I  have 
never  been  a  student  of  sociology,  and  I  know  noth 
ing  on  the  subject,  but  I  subscribe  to  all  that  your 
daughter  has  urged.  Her  motives  are  pure  and  of  a 
high  order,  and  worthy  of  emulation  of  all  right- 
thinking  people.  I  will  long  for  the  day  when  I 
can  again  meet  her.  I  should  like  to  have  my 
parents  meet  her  in  the  early  days  of  our  courtship, 
for  such  it  will  be  to  me,  and  I  am  certain  they  will 
be  happy  days  to  me.  My  parents  are  plain  people, 
and  I  am  sure  they  will  be  happy  in  knowing  Miss 
Mona.  To  me,  there  is  nothing  shocking  or 
unseemly  in  the  proposition,  and  inasmuch  as  it 
meets  with  your  favor  and  endorsement,  the  world 
must  also  look  upon  it  with  favor.  To  a  man  imbued 
with  an  honest  love  for  a  woman,  the  test  is  nothing. 
It  ought  to  be  his  proud  duty  to  devote  his  time  to 
study  and  protect,  not  only  from  himself,  but  from 
the  world,  that  body  and  character  containing  the 
personality  of  wife  and  motherhood.  God  willing, 
I  shall  prove  to  the  world  that  Miss  Mona's  ideals 
are  not  only  practical  to  life,  but  are  wise  and  benefi 
cent.  I  shall  count  the  days  until  I  can  again  see 


84   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

and  meet  her,  and  whenever  it  pleases  her  and  you 
to  incorporate  her  ideas  in  the  form  of  a  contract, 
I  will  esteem  it  a  blessed  hour  that  I  place  my  sig 
nature  thereto. 

"If  you  have  finished,  Mr.  Davidge,  I  will  retire 
to  my  home,  where  I  can  think  this  subject  over 
uninterruptedly  and  alone.  I  thank  you  heartily  for 
this  manifestation  of  your  confidence.  You  will 
find  me  faithful  and  true.  I  love  your  daughter 
Mona,  and  no  act  of  mine  will  ever  mar  her  happi 
ness  nor  disprove  her  ideals." 

The  two  men  shook  hands  and  parted. 

The  interview  over,  Mr.  Davidge  retired  to  his 
room  and  took  a  seat  at  the  window,  without  turn 
ing  up  the  gas ;  the  dim  light  suited  his  mood  better 
than  the  glaring  gas  would,  and  he  felt  so  much  bet 
ter  impressed  with  Guy  than  he  had  before,  that  he, 
for  the  first  time,  realized  that  the  possibilities  of 
losing  his  companionable  daughter  were  imminent. 
After  the  report  from  the  Pinkertons,  he  felt  that 
there  was  nothing  in  the  early  life  of  Guy  that  he 
could  take  exception  to,  and  the  young  man's  bear 
ing  during  the  recital  of  Mona's  life  found  him 
more  favorably  impressed  than  he  expected,  and  his 
own  report  must  also  be  favorable.  While  he  had 
always  listened  interestedly  to  Mona's  plans,  he  had 


MR.  DAVIDGE'S  MUSINGS.  85 

been  skeptical  about  her  applying  the  test  when  she 
would  have  met  a  man  who  appealed  to  her  love. 
Now  that  her  determination  was  about  to  be 
launched  into  a  practical  test,  his  heart  became  heavy 
with  sorrow.  She  had  grown  into  his  life  and  occu 
pied  more  of  it  than  he  had  realized,  until  the  pos 
sibilities  now  loomed  up  into  an  almost  certainty 
of  losing  her.  He  thought  best  to  leave  all  the 
details  to  her,  and  to  give  her  efforts  his  moral  sup 
port,  believing  that  her  analytic  mind,  of  which  he 
had  felt  proud,  would  serve  her  now  to  some  advan 
tage.  Her  happiness  was  very  dear  to  him,  and  if 
the  test  proved  satisfactory  to  her  and  saved  her 
from  the  fate  of  her  mother,  he  could  find  no 
grounds  for  opposition. 

His  mind  reverted  to  her  childhood,  when  she 
found  especial  delight  in  clambering  to  his  knees, 
where  she  prattled  and  crept  into  his  heart  day  by 
day,  to  the  extent  that  when  the  business  of  the  day 
was  closed,  his  anticipation  of  meeting  her  welcome 
at  the  threshold  was  always  a  delight.  He  had 
known  little  of  the  mother  of  the  child,  she  having 
been  reared  in  a  distant  city,  and  until  after  the  mar 
riage  of  his  brother,  he  had  never  met  her.  After 
the  death  and  burial  of  the  mother,  he  was  glad  that 
his  wife  proposed  to  take  the  infant  as  her  own. 


86   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Mrs.  Davidge  had  known  the  mother  of  Mona 
more  intimately,  for  when  the  husband's  desertion 
of  her  was  made  known,  she  immediately  felt  it  a 
duty  to  make  amends  as  far  as  in  her  power  to 
soothe  the  bereaved  heart  all  she  could,  and  the 
promise  then  given  to  the  dying  woman  to  take  and 
care  for  the  little  babe  proved  a  great  solace  to  its 
broken-hearted  mother.  To  Mrs.  Davidge,  the  sor 
rows  of  the  suffering  woman  appealed,  and  not  in 
vain.  The  surrender  of  the  child  to  its  aunt  marked 
the  broken-hearted  mother's  last  effort  to  live,  and 
death  was  a  welcome  relief  to  the  ruined  life,  and 
came  as  a  friend. 

Mr.  Davidge  had  found  happy  companionship  in 
the  budding  nature  of  the  child's  life,  and  she  had 
woven  herself  into  his  life  and  heart  by  her  intelli 
gent  and  loving  nature. 

The  interview  just  terminated  with  Mr.  Guy  pres 
aged  the  passing  of  his  dream  of  Mona's  advent 
as  a  barrister  under  his  tutelage,  which  had  of  late 
given  him  much  pleasure  and  pride.  Her  mind  had 
given  promise  of  developing  the  grasp  of  a  subject 
and  a  true  analysis  of  conditions  so  necessary  to 
a  successful  lawyer,  and  it  was  with  a  keen  regret 
that  he  now  contemplated  the  miscarriage  of  that 
hope. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  next  morning's  mail  brought  a  letter  from 
Mona,  and  with  it  one  written  by  Guy  to  her.  It 
was  evident  that  she  was  feeling  the  burrowing  of 
the  wound  given  by  the  little  God  of  Love,  but  it 
was  also  manifest  that  she  was  not  intending  to 
recede  from  her  resolution  to  keep  her  heart  in  leash, 
pending  the  test  which  she  felt  so  necessary.  She 
wrote : 

"DEAR  POP: — We  have  looked  and  yearned  for 
you,  and  hoped  that  you  would  come  to  see  us  before 
it  came  time  for  our  return.  Mother  and  I  did  not 
forget  the  anniversary  of  your  happy  marriage,  and 
we  celebrated  it  as  best  we  could  without  your  dear 
presence.  I  baked  a  big  cake  of  the  kind  that  you 
are  so  fond,  and  we  had  the  table  decorated  with 
wildflowers;  your  chair  was  between  us,  and  in  lieu 
of  your  very  self,  we  had  your  picture  at  your  place, 
with  a  sweet  little  boutonneire,  and  we  wished  you 
many  happy  returns  of  the  anniversary. 

87 


88      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Little  Bess  has  been  visiting  me.  Do  you 
remember  that  she  is  one  of  our  'cult,'  who  have 
determined  to  first  endure  a  trial  of  hearts  before 
entering  upon  a  doubtful  married  life,  which  might 
involve  disappointment  and  misery.  We  had  a  de 
lightful  visit.  She  has  gone  to  the  Chautauqua.  I 
would  have  liked  to  go  with  her,  but  would  not  leave 
mother. 

"As  my  retained  counsellor,  I  send  you  a  letter 
which  reached  me  a  week  ago,  and  I  want  you  to  tell 
me  whether  you  think  me  a  'weak  vessel,'  as  you 
Lords  of  Creation  speak  of  woman  in  pity,  when  I 
tell  you  that  all  that  I  read  of  the  enclosed  letter 
was  its  caption,  and  the  first  two  lines  of  the  verse, 
and  the  signature,  when  I  snapped  it  shut,  and  have 
not  looked  at  its  inside  since.  As  attorney  of  record, 
it  is  referred  to  you  for  'filing  with  the  rest  of  the 
papers.' 

"You  will  see  that  he  has  lapsed,  or  degenerated 
(which  is  it?),  into  poetry.  It  pleased  me,  Pop,  to 
see  that  I  occupied  so  much  of  the  mind  of  a  New 
York  lawyer  that  he  could  rhyme  about  me. 

"He  wrote: 
"  'I  was  gazing  in  your  eyes,  Dear,  all  the  night 

through ; 
Those  beautiful,  bright  orbs  of  a  bluish-gray  hue.' 


MONA  RESOLUTE.  89 

"Now  that  I  know  his  chirography,  I  will  not 
open  any  other  letters  that  he  may  write  me. 

"Mother  and  I  now  think  that  we  shall  leave  here 
September  ist.  We  will  send  Jenny  down  the  Sat 
urday  previous  to  that  date  to  open  up,  air,  and  dust 
the  house.  Of  course,  it  requires  a  good  airing. 
Life  is  quiet  here  since  our  visiting  friends  left  us, 
after  lending  so  much  charm  to  our  prosaic  life. 

"I  am  almost  crazy  to  hear  your  views  of  Mr. 
Guy,  of  whom  I  think  so  much.  He  seemed  a  very 
pleasant  and  charming  person.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
say  that  I  really  love  him,  but  his  memory  leaves  a 
delight  to  my  mind.  If,  as  Tolstoi  says  :  'It  is  agreed 
that  Love  is  a  moral  sentiment,  a  community  of 
thought,  rather  than  sense,'  then  we  have  but  had 
'community  of  thought,'  for  our  thoughts  and  talks 
were  an  approval,  each  from  the  other,  of  all  that 
each  of  us  uttered  about  our  favorite  authors. 

"I  confess  that  I  was  thinking  most  of,  and  look 
ing  at,  his  beautiful  brown  eyes,  and  the  dimpled 
chin,  too,  was  very  attractive.  I  would  never  allow 
myself,  though,  to  lose  my  heart  irrevocably  through 
my  admiration  for  brown  eyes  and  a  dimpled  chin, 
nor  yet  because  of  a  pleasant  personality. 

"I  am  resolved,  Pop,  to  put  my  feelings  to  a  six 
months'  test,  and  a  six  months'  study  of  'the  other 


90   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

fellow.'  Important  events  I  will  tell  to  my  diary, 
lest,  when  an  episode  has  passed  and  the  sun  again 
shines  brightly,  I  might  forget  its  relevancy.  I 
wonder  if  this  is  selfishness  alone  that  animates  me. 
Surely,  when  a  lifetime  holds  so  much  of  happiness 
or  misery,  balanced,  as  it  were,  in  a  scale,  it  were 
suicidal  to  choose  deliberately  the  latter,  because, 
perchance,  it  has  with  it  a  pair  of  beautiful  brown 
eyes  and  a  dimpled  chin. 

"It  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  me  whether  my 
friends  think  I  married  a  man  with  commonplace 
features  and  figure,  while  it  is  all-important  to  me 
that  I  love  my  husband,  and  that  I  know  he  loves 
me. 

"Until  I  am  so  far  educated  on  the  subject  of 
love,  Pop,  so  that  I  am  firmly  grounded  in  my 
belief  of  the  existence  of  a  deep,  unselfish  love  for 
me  from  the  'him/  and  that  I  feel  positive  that  I 
love  him  as  well,  I  will  abide  with  thee  and  be  your 
happy  spinster  housekeeper.  Pure  love  ennobles  and 
any  other  debases.  I  want  love  to  always  put  a  song 
in  my  heart,  and  whether  I  sing  it  or  not,  I  want  the 
chords  to  vibrate  rhythmically  to  the  tune  my  love 
has  set  going,  like  a  pair  of  happy,  yellow-breasted 
meadow  larks  I  saw  this  morning  when  on  my  early 
canter.  They  sang  as  they  flew,  and  when  they 


MONA  RESOLUTE.  91 

alighted  on  a  mullein  stock,  and  it  swayed  with  the 
impact  of  their  weight,  they  sang  as  though  their 
little  throats  would  burst. 

"Thus  it  is — I  want  to  have  a  song  in  my  heart, 
and  it  attuned  to  love.  The  chords  shall  be  the 
strings  of  our  two  hearts,  and,  oh,  I  will  touch  them 
so  tenderly.  I  don't  want  the  music  loud  enough 
for  others  to  hear — just  we  two. 

"That  will  be  real  happiness.  But  ah,  Pop,  what 
if  I  touched  the  chords  of  his  heart  some  time,  and, 
just  because  something  had  gone  wrong  that  day, 
there  was  no  response,  no  melody,  no  song?  Pop, 
I  would  be  afraid,  and  my  heart  would  shrink  within 
me. 

"Home,  man's  home,  is  the  place  for  rest  and  love, 
and  he  should  never  bring  home  with  him  a  great 
pall,  or  dark  cloud,  to  darken  it.  I  want  to  always 
represent  his  sunshine,  and  send  a  happy  ray  out 
with  him  into  the  world,  and  have  more  for  him 
when  he  returns. 

"Mother  is  well,  and  she  sends  a  whole  lot  of  true 
love  to  you.  "Au  revoir, 

"MONA." 

Nothing  of  moment  occurred  until  after  the 
return  of  the  Davidges  to  their  home  in  Central 


92   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Park  West,  when  Mona  concluded  it  was  due  to 
Mr.  Guy,  under  existing  conditions,  to  invite  him  to 
call.  She  addressed  a  brief  note  to  him,  and 
extended  an  invitation  for  him  to  call. 

When  Mr.  Guy  received  the  scented  note,  he 
became  delightfully  excited,  and  yet  was  filled  with 
trepidation,  fearing  that  both  the  seniors  would  be 
present.  He  knew  that  he  could  not  acquit  himself 
so  creditably  as  when  at  the  hammock.  He  knew 
that  the  ordeal  must  be  gone  through  with,  and  per 
haps  the  seniors  would  be  conveniently  absent. 

In  preparation  for  the  event,  he  dispatched  his 
Prince  Albert  suit  to  be  pressed,  and  when  he  was 
arrayed,  ready  for  the  call,  he  surveyed  himself  crit 
ically  before  the  mirror,  and  could  find  no  fault 
with  his  appearance. 

A  quarter  to  eight  o'clock  found  him  at  the  apart 
ment,  his  card  received,  and  Miss  Mona  receiving 
him  at  the  parlor  door  with  a  friendly  pressure  of 
the  hand,  and  he  himself  bowing  before  the 
young  lady's  mother,  with  whose  presence  he  was 
deeply  impressed.  She  was  a  lady  of  unusual 
height,  aristocratic  appearance,  and  a  face  that  you 
would  know  indexed  a  good  heart.  After  a  greet 
ing  from  Mr.  Davidge,  the  ceremony  was  over,  and 
the  feeling  engendered  by  the  warmth  of  his  recep- 


INVITED  TO  CALL.  93 

tion  swept  all  his  fears  away,  and  he  felt  quite  at 
home. 

When  the  conversation  lagged,  after  the  subject 
of  the  country  had  been  thoroughly  discussed,  and 
Mr.  Guy  had  related  how  he  had  ingratiated  him 
self  into  Smith's  good  graces  by  abusing  Updyke's 
politics,  he  asked  Miss  Mona  if  she  played  the  piano, 
which  was  present  and  open,  whereupon  she  went 
to  the  instrument  and  rendered  some  of  the  late 
operas  and  others,  and,  running  her  ringers  rhyth 
mically  over  the  keys,  she  sang  in  a  low,  soft  tone : 

"The  wind-harp  has  music,  it  mourns  to  the  tree, 
And  so  has  the  shell  that  complains  to  the  sea, 
The  lark  that  sings  merrily  over  the  lea, 

And  the  reed  of  the  rude  shepherd  boy. 
We  revel  in  music  when  day  has  begun, 
When  rock- fountains  gush  into  glee  as  they  run, 
And  stars  of  the  morn  sing  their  hymns  to  the  sun, 

Who  brightens  the  hilltops  with  joy." 

Some  friends  of  the  elders  came  in  to  call,  when 
the  host  and  hostess  conducted  them  into  the  sitting- 
room,  thus  leaving  Mr.  Guy  and  Mona  alone.  He 
promptly  left  his  seat  on  the  sofa  and  took  one 
beside  Mona  on  the  duet  music-bench,  his  back  to 


94   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

the  piano,  and  his  arm  sought  her  waist,  and  he 
precipitated  his  face  and  shoulders  between  her  and 
the  bank  of  keys,  and  thus  putting  a  stop  to  her 
playing,  and  softly  said :  "Dear,  this  is  not  the  first 
of  your  music  which  I  have  heard.  This  of  the 
Nature  music,  of  which  you  have  just  sung  so  feel 
ingly,  is  no  sweeter,  nor  is  it  half  so  joyous  as  the 
song  that  you  set  going  in  my  heart  at  the  hammock. 
May  I  hope  that  you  have  felt  more  joyous  and 
buoyant  than  before  we  met?  Thoughts  of  you 
have  rendered  me  very  happy  ever  since,  and  set 
me  to  building  air-castles,  and  they  were  always 
inhabited  by  my  inspiration,  as  queen." 

"That  is  very  pleasant  to  hear,  Mr.  Guy.  I  con 
fess  that  you  have  been  in  my  thoughts  very  often 
since  I  met  you  and  parted  from  you." 

"But  mine  is  love — the  love  of  my  early  manhood 
—which  I  offer  you,  and  which  I  hope  will  serve  to 
kindle  in  your  heart  a  love  that  will  bear  you  unre 
sistingly  to  my  arms  as  my  wife.  I  never  loved 
before.  I  have  always  guarded  my  feelings,  and 
when  I  felt  a  seeming  danger  of  heart  lesion,  I  put 
out  my  fenders  and  drew  back ;  but  when  I  saw  you 
at  the  Ford,  I  was  powerless  to  resist  its  influence, 
and  Love  soon  overcame  my  caution,  and  I  sought 
you  at  the  hammock." 


RALPH  URGENT.  95 

"It  is  always  flattering  to  a  woman,"  said  Mona, 
"to  be  chosen  out  of  the  throng  by  a  man  and  asked 
to  be  that  man's  wife.  Any  woman  should  be  made 
proud.  You  are  the  first  man  that  has  awakened  a 
warming  of  my  heart,  and  I  have  asked  myself 
whether  it  is  love  that  has  come  knocking  at  its  por 
tals.  I  am  unable  to  answer.  You  think  you  love 
me,  and  yet  you  know  nothing  of  me,  simply  noth 
ing,  except  as  we  exchanged  thoughts  upon  our 
favorite  authors." 

"Yes,  but  if  I  had  until  doomsday  in  which 
to  analyze  my  feelings,  I  would  learn  nothing  new 
on  the  subject  beyond  the  fact  that  I  love  you  and 
want  you  to  be  my  wife." 

"But  you  are  impetuous.  You  are  reckless.  Per 
haps  if  I  had  not  weighted  down  my  thoughts  of 
you,  they  would  have  taken  wings  and  carried  me 
away,  willy-nilly.  Sometimes  it  happens  that  young 
girls  grow  wise,  like  owls,  and  invoke  reason  and 
judgment  to  analyze  and  dissect  the  symptoms 
affecting  them,  and  find  that,  instead  of  love  with 
Cupid  wings  which  is  tugging  at  them,  it  is  only  a 
disordered  liver  troubling  them.  As  I  told  you,  and 
as  father  informed  you,  I  propose  to  put  a  severe 
test  to  the  love-feeling  that  may  animate  me,  for  of 
the  one  thing  I  shall  be  sure  before  I  give  my  hand 


96   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

to  any  man,  and  that  is,  I  must  know  that  I  love 
him." 

"But,  do  you  not  feel  differently  towards  me 
from  what  you  do  towards  other  men?" 

"True,  I  feel  much  attracted  to  you,  but  I  also 
feel  that,  were  you  now  to  pass  out  of  my  life,  I 
should  still  live  and  want  to  live;  whereas,  if  I  loved 
you  as  I  think  real  love  is,  I  would  not  want  to  live 
thereafter.  That  is  my  estimate  of  love.  Perhaps 
you  cannot  understand  that  feeling." 

"Ah,  yes,  I  can;  but  that  is  a  far  more  intense 
feeling  than  any  that  I  have  ever  hoped  to  have 
showered  upon  me." 

"Tell  me,  please,  what  is  your  conception  of 
love?" 

"Harmony  of  thought  and  a  tenderness  of  feel 
ings  that  have  never  before  obtained  between  my 
heart  and  any  other.  Identity  of  ideals  goes  very 
far  in  expressing  what  I  think  love  is,"  said  Guy. 

"But  thoughts  that  to-day  may  be  idealistic,  to 
morrow,  because  of  a  restless  night  or  a  headache, 
are  wholly  at  variance  with  what  that  mind  may 
have  previously  viewed  them.  If  the  well-balanced 
mind,  sound  in  health,  yields  itself  to  such  seem 
ingly  crotchety  ideas,  may  it  not  become  vexed  and 
irritated?  Then,  perhaps,  one  leaves  in  a  'huff,'  and 


RALPH  URGENT.  97 

the  first  misunderstanding  has  ensued.  A  crotchety 
mind  is  an  erratic  mind,  whether  through  a  diseased 
liver  or  a  chronic  state  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction. 
Perhaps  that  might  best  be  termed  an  idiosyncrasy 
of  the  mind.  I  do  not  know  how  much  value  to 
place  upon  a  love  founded  upon  an  identity  of  ideals, 
for  I  think  it  is  liable  to  be  a  shifting  and  unreliable 
foundation. 

"You  see  that,  on  the  all-important  subject  of 
love  we  differ,  and  constant  differences  of  opinion 
might  soon  create  an  impression  between  us  that  the 
one  or  the  other  of  us  was  differing  simply  to  be 
contrary.  While  this  is  not  probable  between  two 
sensible  people,  still  is  it  not  possible?  And  when 
an  idea  has  become  well-grounded  in  the  ordinary 
mind — becomes  a  conviction — it  will  be  difficult  to 
pry  it  out.  The  fact  that  the  other  cannot  see  it 
in  the  same  light  may  then  become  a  cause  for 
irritation." 

"Well,  Mona,  I  have  no  fears  of  you,  and  I  will 
marry  you  this  minute,  if  you  are  willing.  Will 
you  say  the  word?  The  little  word  'Yes' ?"  and  Guy 
gazed  most  earnestly  into  her  face,  while  his  voice 
took  a  most  pleading  tone. 

"Mr.  Guy,  I  have  understood  father  to  say  that 
he  informed  you  that  I  would  not  marry  until  I 


98   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

fully  knew  my  own  heart  and  I  thought  I  knew 
that  of  the  man  of  my  preference,  and  that  I  would 
insist  upon  a  period  of  probation,  during  which  time 
we  would  live  together  in  an  apartment  separate 
and  apart  from  my  parents.  I  am  resolved  on  that 
matter." 

"But,  dear,  people  will  not  understand  our  rela 
tions  and  will  talk  about  you,  saying  slighting  things 
of  you.  I  know  that  it  will  be  all  right,  but  I  fear 
for  you." 

"Perhaps  there  will  be  talking  by  those  weak  char 
acters  who  cannot  conceive  of  true  manhood  and 
true  womanhood.  I  have  a  character  for  upright 
ness  wherever  I  am  known.  If  you,  too,  have  a 
character,  then  what  care  I  for  what  they  may  say. 
My  parents  have  a  character,  and  their  continued 
recognition  of  me  as  their  daughter  is  worth  more 
than  a  whole  neighborhood  of  gossips.  Besides,  I 
shall  insist  that  our  contract  be  recorded  and  pub 
lished,  the  same  as  other  contracts  are,  and  it  must 
be  framed  and  hung  in  our  parlor,  with  my  father 
as  a  witness.  Then  I  can  defy  the  world.  While  I 
have  his  full  confidence  and  his  approval  in  this 
move,  I  care  not  for  what  the  world  says." 

"Oh,  darling,  but  you  look  beautiful  and  heroic, 
and  I  surrender  to  your  wish.  My  parents  will  join 


MONA'S  REASONING.  99 

us  for  a  visit  soon  after  we  are  settled  in  our  flat. 
Their  presence  will  give  us  standing  in  the  apart 
ment  house.  Tell  me  how  soon  that  can  be  com 
pleted,  as  far  as  you  are  concerned.  I  can  sign  this 
moment,  and  get  a  flat  this  week,  yet  I  want  you  to 
select  the  furniture.  Tell  me  when?" 

"You  must  be  more  patient  and  not  so  precipi 
tous.  You  can  call  on  papa  as  soon  as  it  suits  him 
and  yourself.  I  always  keep  my  trunk  and  clothes 
ready  for  packing  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  I  will 
not  need  any  clothes  for  the  next  few  months,  so  I 
will  not  be  a  cause  of  delay." 

The  visitors  having  just  left,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Davidge  were  at  the  door,  so  Mr.  Guy  joined  them, 
and  said :  "Mr.  Davidge,  Mona  has  informed  me 
that  she  has  retained  you  as  counsel,  and  has  author 
ized  you  to  meet  me  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  up 
a  contract  or  bond  relative  to  our  probationary 
period  of  engagement.  As  counsel,  representing  the 
insignificant  party  of  the  second  part,  I  have  to 
say  that  my  client  is  anxious  and  ready." 

Mr.  Davidge  joined  his  wife  in  a  hearty  laugh  at 
the  manner  Mr.  Guy  had  facetiously  and  so  ear 
nestly  stated  the  proposition;  then  Mr.  Davidge 
expressed  a  willingness  to  meet  the  counsel  on  the 
other  side  in  three  days  hence,  at  9.30  a.  m.,  in  his 


ioo   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

office.  Mr.  Guy  thanked  him  and  returned  to 
Mona's  side,  then  sitting  on  the  sofa. 

"The  furniture  in  my  room  is  of  the  severely 
bachelor  style,  and  we,  that  is,  the  said  furniture  and 
its  bachelor  owner,  have  been  consorting  together  so 
long  that  it  would  be  unkind  to  separate  it  from 
myself,  so  you  can  leave  the  furnishing  of  my  room 
to  me,  and  I  will  send  it  up  as  soon  as  we  determine 
upon  our  location.  It  has  imbibed  all  my  hopes  of 
happiness  and  witnessed  the  building  of  my  air- 
castles,  in  which  it  always  figured,  so  that  it  has 
a  sentimental  attachment  with  all  my  dreams  of  love 
and  you,  hence,  aside  from  the  economical  features 
in  its  retention,  it  has  grown  dear  to  me." 

"I  like  that  idea,  and  I  respect  and  appreciate  the 
sentiment,  for  I,  too,  have  so  sentimental  a  heart 
that  it  keeps  contending  with  me  against  the  prac 
tical  test  which  I  have  resolved  to  put  my  attach 
ment  to  during  the  probationary  period  of  study. 
My  two  books,  'Geraldine'  and  'Lucile,'  have  an 
added  value  since  they  had  so  important  a  part  in 
bringing  us  into  a  harmonious  estate." 

"So,  too,  has  my  copy  of  'Geraldine,'  and  I  have 
studied  it  with  a  newly  awakened  interest,  and  when 
I  meet  an  unusually  beautiful  sentiment  clothed  in 
that  unsurpassed  rhythm,  I  invariably  wish  for  you 


INTUITION  AND  REASON.  101 

with  whom  to  study  it.  It  was  rather  a  pathetic 
fate  that  should  awaken  such  an  all-absorbing  love 
in  Mr.  Trent  for  Isabel  Lee  at  a  time  when  his  love 
and  his  honor  were  alike  pledged  to  another. 

"There  was  an  evidence  of  the  acuteness  of  love's 
discernment  in  Geraldine's  heart  when  she  discov 
ered  the  absence  of  the  true  love-tone  in  his  letters 
and  in  his  personal  intercourse  with  her,  telling  her 
in  unmistakable  force  that  Trent's  heart  had  strayed 
from  her,  soever  hard  he  tried  to  conceal  it  even 
from  himself." 

"Therein  is  where  I  found  the  evidence  of  that 
other  sense  attributed  to  women  described  as  'Intui 
tion.'  While  I  do  not  believe  that  it  exists  more 
in  woman  than  in  man,"  said  Mona,  "woman,  in  her 
absence  of  the  power  to  reason,  appropriates  to  her 
self  that  which  she  substitutes  for  reason.  Man  has 
the  sense  in  him  quite  as  powerfully  developed,  but, 
with  his  'Gray  Matter'  in  good  working  order,  he 
will  not  rely  upon  it  as  does  woman." 

"In  behalf  of  Lordly  Man,  I  thank  the  Oracle 
who  is  generous  enough  to  attribute  to  him  the  pos 
session  of  Gray  Matter  of  a  superior  worth  to  wom 
an's  specially  appropriated  Sixth  Sense,  and  make 
my  obeisance,"  said  Ralph,  while  he  knelt  before 
Mona  in  mock  humility.  At  the  instant  of  which 


102   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Mrs.  Davidge  entered  the  room  in  search  of  some 
thing,  and  could  not  but  be  a  witness  to  it,  when 
Ralph  turned  to  her  and  said:  "Mrs.  Davidge,  I 
am  typifying  conscious  man  prostrated  before  the 
divinity  of  truth,  in  the  person  of  Miss  Mona,  who 
in  the  candor  of  her  nature  has  attributed  to  man 
not  only  the  Sixth  Sense  universally  accorded  to 
woman,  but  she  gracefully  yields  to  him  the  posses 
sion  of  gray  matter  besides." 

"Since  childhood,"  said  Mrs.  Davidge,  "abnega 
tion  has  been  one  of  Mona's  cardinal  virtues. 
Although  holding  tenaciously  to  all  that  was  her 
own,  she  never  developed  acquisitiveness,  as  chil 
dren  are  apt  to  do  with  their  playthings.  Justice 
was  always  a  strong  motive  with  her."  Mrs. 
Davidge  then  passed  from  the  room. 

"Pray,"  said  Ralph,  "don't  permit  your  gray  mat 
ter  to  work  overtime,  but  let  your  heart  have  sway  in 
determining  our  fates.  Reserve  your  reasoning 
powers  for  the  elucidation  of  the  more  intricate 
questions  of  law.  The  more  I  see  and  understand 
you,  the  more  ardent  becomes  my  desire  to  have 
you  secure  as  my  wife." 

"Acknowledging  the  existence  of  gray  matter  in 
me,  you  should  not  discourage  its  proper  use,  unless 


INTUITION  AND  REASON.  103 

you  fear  that  its  exercise  might  generate  a  mannish 
disposition  in  me." 

The  striking  of  a  clock  in  the  sitting-room  admon 
ished  Ralph  that  his  visit  was  being  prolonged  to 
the  limit  of  propriety,  and  he  terminated  his  call. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  few  days  later  Mona's  friend  Bessie  called 
while  Miss  Black,  a  neighbor  acquaintance,  was  call 
ing  upon  Mona,  and  Bessie  was  so  enthusiastic 
over  Mona's  prospective  probationary  test,  that  she 
could  not  await  Miss  Blacks  departure  before  enter 
ing  upon  the  discussion  of  the  details  about  the  flat 
and  its  furnishing,  etc.,  and  when  she  asked  Mona 
when  she  expected  to  take  up  life  in  the  flat,  and 
where  it  was,  Miss  Black  was  all  agog,  and  in  a 
dazed  manner  asked  Mona  if  her  parents  were 
intending  to  move. 

"No,"  said  Mona;  "Father  and  Mother  will 
remain  here.  I  expect  to  go  to  housekeeping  with 
my  fiance,  Mr.  Guy,  whom  your  mother  met  in  our 
parlor  a  few  evenings  ago.  I  now  expect  to  live 
with  him  for  six  months  before  our  marriage,  or 
conclude  by  that  time  that  I  will  not  marry  him." 

104 


BESSIE'S  ENTHUSIASM.  103 

"Have  you  selected  your  furniture,  Mona?"  asked 
Bessie. 

"No,  Bessie,"  said  Mona.  "We  have  looked  at 
some  at  different  places,  but  have  not  made  a  final 
selection.  Mr.  Guy  desires  me  to  decide  upon  it.  If 
you  care  to  do  so,  and  will  come  down  to-morrow, 
we  will  drive  down,  and  you  can  help  me  to  decide." 

"Oh,  good;  I  will  certainly  come." 

"Good  evening,  ladies;  I  will  go,"  said  Miss 
Black. 

When  Mona  returned  to  the  sitting-room,  Bes 
sie's  eyes  were  sparkling  with  mirth,  and  she  said : 
"She  couldn't  hold  any  more,  and  she  could  not 
contain  what  she  got,  and  is  going  to  disgorge  to 
her  mother." 

"Oh,  Mona,  but  I  am  proud  of  you.  You  are  a 
real  heroine.  I  only  hope  that  when  I  get  a  chance 
to  become  engaged  that  I  will  have  your  courage. 
The  W.  E.  S.  will  be  awfully  gratified  to  hear  that 
you,  our  president,  are  carrying  out  our  resolution 
so  magnificently.  Now  I  will  tell  you,  Mona,  all 
my  friends,  and,  of  course,  all  your  friends,  must 
receive  cards,  as  we  planned,  and  I  will  see  to  it 
that  every  one  of  my  intimates  shall  call  on  you 
and  show  to  the  world  that  we  know  and  have  con 
fidence  in  the  moral  integrity  of  our  Mona." 


106   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Bess  was  all  enthusiasm,  while  Mona  was  self- 
contained,  if  not  more  seriously  disposed  than  was 
her  wont.  She  had  a  taste  for  plainness  of  dress,  in 
make  as  well  as  colors,  and  the  fawn-gray  in  which 
she  was  dressed  this  evening  became  her,  and 
showed  the  symmetry  of  her  figure,  which  always 
attracted  attention  wherever  she  went.  She  always 
maintained  a  quiet  dignity  that  gave  her  a  distin 
guished  air,  and  among  her  young  friends  and  inti 
mates  went  far  to  give  her  a  natural  leadership. 

Bess  left  early,  and  Mona,  as  usual,  sought  her 
mother.  Since  the  question  of  her  entering  upon 
her  probationary  period  of  residence  with  Mr.  Guy 
had  taken  concrete  form,  Mona  showed  a  more  than 
usual  preference  for  the  company  of  her  mother's 
society.  The  mother,  a  close  observer  of  anything 
pertaining  to  Mona  or  her  ways,  had  noticed  it  and 
had  encouraged  her  in  every  manner,  and  was  ever 
ready  to  welcome  her  with  a  kiss  and  a  caress  of 
tenderness.  The  tie  that  bound  these  two  women 
together  was  no  common  bond,  for  it  partook  of  a 
more  than  usual  tenderness  of  mother  and  daughter, 
the  outcome,  no  doubt,  of  the  warm  sympathy  of 
the  rescuer  for  the  abandoned  child.  Mrs.  Davidge 
had  remarked  to  her  husband  that  Mona  was  weigh 
ing  well  the  importance  of  the  step  she  was  about 


MOTHER  AND  DAUGHTER.          107 

raking,  and  that  it  had  seemed  to  sober  her  some 
what.  When  Mona  felt  an  unusual  affection  for 
her  mother,  it  was  her  habit  to  kiss  her  mother  on 
the  forehead,  while  her  arm  encircled  her  neck,  as 
she  did  this  morning. 

"Well,  daughter,  has  your  company  gone  ?" 

"Yes,  mother;  Bessie  will  come  to-morrow  to  go 
with  us  to  decide  on  the  furniture.  I  think  I  will 
make  the  selection  to-morrow." 

"Then  you  don't  need  me,  dear,  if  Bessie  goes 
with  you.  You  have  good  taste,  and  besides  you  are 
intending  to  be  economical,  you  tell  me,  both  in 
quality  and  quantity." 

With  her  arm  still  around  her  mother's  neck, 
Mona  knelt  by  her  side.  Mona  said :  "Yes,  mother 
dear,  I  am;  but  I  want  to  feel  that  your  choice  of 
taste  shall  rule.  That  is,  perhaps,  more  of  a  senti 
ment  than  anything  else.  I  know  that  you  have 
yielded  to  me  in  this  matter  for  my  personal  good, 
fully  appreciating  the  circumstances  influencing  me, 
and,  mother,  your  Christian  character  will  be  a 
shield  under  which  I  shall  feel  secure  against  the 
cynics  of  our  acquaintance.  Howsoever  much  I 
should  desire  to  follow  out  my  principles,  even 
though  I  was  supporting  myself  as  an  orphan,  I  fear 
my  heart  would  have  failed  me,  and  I  suppose  I, 


io8   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

too,  would  have  married  a  man  who  made  love  to 
me,  without  knowing  whether  I  loved  him  or 
whether  he  loved  me.  It  is  your  love  for  me,  and 
your  character  that  will  protect  me  from  the  shafts 
of  scorn  and  doubt  that  the  female  world  will  hurl 
at  me.  Woman's  inhumanity  to  woman  makes  her 
pathway  rough  and  almost  impassable.  If  woman 
had  half  the  charity  for  her  sisters  that  man  has, 
many  a  young  woman  could  be  saved  from  an  igno 
minious  life,  and  be  an  ornament  to  society,  as  her 
character  had  prepared  her  for.  Sometimes  I  trem 
ble,  mother,  when  I  think  of  the  uncharitable  things 
that  will  be  said  of  me.  For  myself,  I  have  not  a 
particle  of  fear  as  to  the  outcome  of  my  undertak 
ing,  with  you  to  uphold  me.  I  want  you  to  select 
the  furniture,  for  then  I  will  feel  that  you  have 
placed  me  in  the  flat,  and  that  I  have  your  benedic 
tion  in  the  matter,  and  that  alone  will  sustain  me 
when  I  shall  have  heard  of  the  stigma  that  unchari 
table  woman  has  cast  upon  me." 

That  same  evening  Mr.  Guy  called,  and  requested 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davidge  to  accompany  himself  and 
Mona  over  on  Sixty-ninth  Street,  and  help  decide 
on  a  flat.  They  went  with  him,  and  found  an  unu 
sually  beautiful  flat,  with  an  outlook  over  Central 


THE  APARTMENT  SELECTED.       109 

Park,  very  light  and  airy,  and  they  all  voted  in  favor 
of  accepting  it. 

With  the  flat  determined  upon,  there  was  no 
longer  cause  for  delay  in  purchasing  the  furniture, 
bedding,  etc.,  and  on  the  morrow,  it  was  begun. 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  house-furnishing  occupied  the  attention  of 
Mona  and  Bessie's  time  for  the  next  several  days, 
and  when  that  was  complete,  there  was  no  reason 
for  longer  delay  in  signing  the  contract,  and  Mona 
requested  her  father  to  draw  it  up  and  present  it  for 
signature.  She  stipulated  that  it  should  provide  for 
a  termination  at  the  request  of  either  of  the  two 
contracting  parties  at  any  time  during  the  six 
months,  whenever  either  of  them  concluded  that  its 
continuance  was  no  longer  desirable,  and  that  mar 
riage  between  them  was  impossible. 

Ralph  was  invited  to  dinner  at  the  Davidge  apart 
ment  on  the  day  of  its  signing,  and  which  was  com 
pleted  just  before  dinner  was  announced.  The  din 
ner  was  a  decidedly  pleasant  affair,  which  gave 
Ralph  an  insight  into  the  harmonious  life  of  the 
Davidges,  and  he  left  the  house  that  evening  with  a 
decidedly  high  opinion  of  Mrs.  Davidge  and  an 

110 


THE  COMPACT  SIGNED.  in 

insight  into  that  woman's  character  from  which  he 
felt  that  Mona  had  formed  her  own. 

It  was  concluded  that  Saturday  evening  should  be 
the  time  for  moving  to  the  apartment,  when  they 
would  enter  upon  the  solemn  compact.  The  pro 
gramme  included  Bess,  as  the  only  outsider  who 
would  accompany  them  to  their  new  home.  To 
Ralph  was  assigned  the  duty  of  seeing  to  the  publi 
cation  of  the  contract  in  the  Sunday  morning  papers ; 
its  insertion  was  to  be  in  the  marriage  column,  but 
to  be  headed  "Contract,"  and,  if  possible,  to  be  at 
the  top  of  the  column  immediately  above  the  head 
ing,  "Marriages." 

As  the  time  approached,  Mr.  Guy's  admiration 
and  tenderness  for  Mona  seemed  very  much  intensi 
fied,  and  to  every  appearance  he  was  very  much  in 
love  with  her.  In  signing  the  contract,  he  wrote 
Ralph  Waldo  Guy  in  a  bold  hand,  and  Mona's  sig 
nature  was  no  less  bold,  written  in  the  large  hand 
so  much  adopted  by  the  women  of  to-day;  it 
appeared  as  Mona  Williams  Davidge,  the  middle 
name  being  that  of  her  mother's  Christian  name. 

The  party  entered  a  touring  car,  and  landed  at  the 
apartment  in  time  for  early  tea,  which  was  ready 
soon  after  their  arrival.  Mrs.  Davidge  had  engaged 
for  housekeeper  a  settled  woman  from  up-State, 


ii2   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

whom  she  had  employed  in  like  capacity  during  sev 
eral  summer  sojourns  on  the  island. 

After  tea,  the  company  spent  some  time  inspect 
ing  the  apartment  and  its  furnishings.  Mona's 
room,  bright  and  sunny  in  the  morning,  was  fur 
nished  in  blue,  with  a  beautiful  blue  Turkish  rug 
covering  the  floor,  and  it  had  been  Bess's  particular 
pride  to  "fix  up"  the  room,  and  it  did  her  taste 
full  justice.  Their  class  photograph  decorating  the 
dresser,  where  Mona  could  see  it  every  time  that 
her  vision  took  in  the  mirror,  "reminding  her  to  be 
steadfast  in  the  principles  of  the  cult,"  as  Bess  put 
it.  Mr.  Guy's  room  was  in  sad  contrast,  because 
of  his  preference  for  his  old  bachelor  furniture, 
which  was  severely  plain. 

When  the  time  for  parting  arrived,  Mrs.  Davidge 
folded  Mona  to  her  bosom  and  kissed  her  affec 
tionately,  but  with  good  cheer,  and  remarked : 
"Young  lady,  I  hope  you  will  prove  yourself  to  be 
the  good  housekeeper  for  Mr.  Guy  that  you  bade 
fair  to  be  before  you  left  home  for  Vassar.  And, 
daughter,  I  must  see  you  every  day  at  least  once, 
or  hear  from  you." 

Bess  held  back  until  the  last,  and  when  she  put 
her  arms  around  Mona,  tears  filled  her  eyes,  but  with 


THE  COMPACT  ENTERED  UPON. 

a  smiling  face,  like  sunshine  and  showers,  she  said, 
with  quivering  voice:  "Mr.  Guy,  my  heroine  is  too 
good  for  any  man,  and,  remember,  if  you  are  not 
kind  to  her,  I'll  rise  like  a  veritable  ogre,  and  have 
horns  and  fangs,  and  eat  you  up,  and  take  your 
place  and  marry  her  myself." 

"Oh,  Miss  Bessie,  but  if  you  stay  in  the  lower 
regions  until  I  shall  have  treated  my  darling  the 
least  bit  badly,  you'll  be  too  old  to  be  a  terror.  But 
you  must  come  to  see  us,  and  especially  Mona  in 
daytimes,  and  bring  your  young  friends  with  you, 
lest  she  grow  lonesome  and  run  away." 

"Hold  that  elevator  for  me  a  minute,  please,  and 
excuse  me,  Mrs.  Davidge.  Now  you  two  go  into  the 
room,  go  along,"  and  Bess  pushed  them  back,  laugh 
ing  merrily.  "Now,  sit  down,  Mr.  Guy;  sit  on  his 
knee,  Mona.  Now  the  ogre  is  the  fairy,  and  I  kiss 
you  both,  and  'Bless  you,  my  children.' '  Bess  ran 
out  and  entered  the  elevator  with  quivering  lip  and 
tearful  eyes,  in  company  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Davidge.  Mrs.  Davidge  drew  Bess  to  her  in  a  moth 
erly  manner,  without  an  effort  at  conversation,  her 
own  heart  filled  with  love  and  anguish  at  the  part 
ing  under  the  circumstances.  She  well  knew  that 
Mona's  sensitive  nature  would  be  watchful  for  every 
sign  of  slight  from  their  many  friends,  and  would 


ii4   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

suffer  when  the  maliciously  inclined  would  manifest 
doubt  of  her  integrity. 

Thus  launched  upon  the  experimental  era  of  their 
love-life,  Ralph  and  Mona  found  themselves  alone, 
she  sitting  on  his  knee,  and  when  the  party  had  gone 
they  remained,  as  Bess  in  her  sportive  disposition 
had  placed  them,  and  Mona  laid  her  head  against 
Ralph's  and  wept,  tears  rolling  copiously  down  her 
face. 

Thoughts  of  her  mother's  sad  failure  in  the  mar 
riage  experience  overwhelmed  her  with  grief.  Had 
she,  too,  not  hoped  and  believed  that  a  lifetime  of  hap 
piness  was  before  her  when  she  had  joined  her  fate 
with  that  of  Mona's  father,  and  what  a  sad  awak 
ening  had  it  been  to  that  mother ! 

"Why  these  tears,  dear?  Is  there  regret  in  your 
heart  ?  Is  there  fear  that  you  have  made  a  mistake  ? 
Remember,  sweetheart,  that  I  am  ready  and  anx 
ious  to  substitute  a  marriage  certificate  for  our  con 
tract  any  minute,  in  any  day,  that  you  will  say.  I 
want  father  and  mother  to  visit  us  just  as  soon  as 
you  feel  that  you  want  them.  Mother  knows  all 
about  the  contract-life  I  was  to  enter  upon  to-day, 
and,  dear,  see  what  she  says,  and  she  sends  you  her 
blessing,  with  a  message  to  you."  Ralph  opened  the 
letter  just  taken  from  his  pocket,  and  read : 


MONA'S  EMOTION.  115 

"My  dear  boy,  the  step  you  are  about  taking, 
while  it  is  outre  and  unconventional,  receives  my 
full  approbation,  and  I  know  that  it  contains  more 
possibilities  of  happiness  throughout  life  than  the 
ordinary  ill-conceived  marriages  of  everyday  life, 
and  it  has  my  blessing.  Tell  your  fiancee  that  I 
look  upon  her,  from  this  distance,  as  a  paragon  of 
good  sense,  and  that  I  am  assured  that  she  is  a 
noble  girl  and  one  that  I  shall  feel  proud  of  as  a 
daughter;  that  I  long  to  meet  her,  and  will  visit 
her  just  as  soon  as  it  will  suit  her.  While  my  life 
with  your  father  has  been  as  happy  as  the  average 
marriage  is,  I  learned  long  ago  that  I  did  not  prop 
erly  know  his  disposition  as  I  thought  I  did,  or  as 
I  should  have  done. 

''Ralph,  this  is  from  your  mother  in  the  country. 
If  I  thought  that  you  would  be  anything  else  than 
the  manly  man  to  which  I  endeavored  to  raise  you, 
and  would  prove  recreant  to  the  trust  reposed  in 
you  by  that  noble  girl  and  her  parents,  I  would  close 
my  door  in  your  face  when  you  came  to  visit  me. 
You  are  to  be  congratulated  upon  finding  such  a 
woman,  and  it  should  be  your  one  aim  in  life  to  be 
worthy  of  her.  Give  the  young  heroine  my  love 
and  blessing.  YOUR  MOTHER." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  day  following  the  establishment  of  Mr.  Guy 
and  Mona  in  the  apartment,  being  Sunday,  they 
attended  the  Episcopal  Church,  where  Mona  had 
been  an  attendant  previously,  and  they  took  their 
seats  in  the  pew  of  Mr.  Davidge,  sitting  between  that 
couple — Mona  next  her  mother.  Their  hands 
sought  each  other  in  friendly  companionship,  the 
one  in  encouragement  and  the  other  in  love  and 
devotion. 

The  sermon  that  morning  was  based  on  the  text, 
"Speak  not  evil  of  your  neighbor."  The  man  of 
God  dealt  severely  with  those  of  his  hearers  who, 
by  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders  and  raising  of  the  brows, 
intimated,  "I  know,  but  you  must  ask  for  particulars 
elsewhere" ;  those  assassins  of  character,  who  clothe 
themselves  in  respectability,  and  by  shrugs  and 
grimaces  say  far  more  than  they  would  dare  say 
audibly,  or  yet  write  it  in  black  and  white,  with- 

116 


THEY  ATTEND  CHURCH.  117 

out  disguising  their  writing,  proving  themselves  of 
the  most  unscrupulous  and  designing  kind. 

After  the  congregation  was  dismissed  and  while 
mother  and  daughter  were  detained  by  some  of  their 
closer  friends,  Mr.  Davidge  and  Ralph  were  leis 
urely  carried  along  by  the  throng.  The  minister 
joined  Mrs.  and  Miss  Davidge,  and  after  shaking 
Mona  heartily  by  the  hand,  urged  her  to  rejoin  the 
Bible  class,  now  that  she  was  again  in  the  city,  and 
added:  "Your  new  duties,  Miss  Mona,  I  hope  will 
not  separate  you  from  the  class  duties.  We  cannot 
part  with  our  brightest  scholar  and  pupil,  even  if 
you  are  pursuing  the  study  of  sociology.  I  cannot 
but  admire  your  course,  Miss  Mona,  and  am  free 
to  confess  that  I  am  willing  to  sit  at  your  feet,  while 
I,  too,  study  your  new  departure,  and  I  will  take 
pleasure  in  making  an  early  visit."  Taking  her  hand 
warmly  in  both  of  his  warm,  fat  hands,  he  said : 
"Miss  Mona,  you  have  my  warmest  sympathy  and 
fullest  confidence.  Give  my  wife  your  address,  for 
I  heard  her  say  to  your  little  friend  Bess  that  she 
would  call  upon  you  early  this  week.  Good-bye, 
and  God  bless  you." 

Bess  and  several  of  Mona's  other  intimate  friends 
now  pushed  forward,  and  were  warm  in  their  dem 
onstrations  of  friendly  confidence.  If  there  were 


n8   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

any  who  had  turned  their  backs  to  Mona,  they  had 
not  been  noticed,  and  her  mother  hovered  around 
her  until  they  emerged  from  the  church  door  and 
joined  the  two  men,  and  then  slowly  passed  down 
the  street  towards  their  homes. 

Mona  seemed  the  personification  of  quiet  dignity 
and  poise,  and  was  worthy  of  the  admiration  of  the 
group  of  young  men  ushers  —  nearly  all  —  who 
passed  our  party  and  respectfully  raised  their  hats 
to  the  two  ladies,  casting  lingering  looks  at  Mona's 
handsome  face. 

A  few  evenings  after  this,  Mona  visited  Ralph  at 
his  office,  and  they  leisurely  walked  up  Broadway  to 
Twenty-seventh  Street,  where  quite  a  congregation 
filled  the  cross-street  at  its  intersection,  where  a 
"tail-ender"  was  holding  forth  from  an  improvised 
wagon  platform,  and  they  paused  for  a  brief  time 
and  listened  to  the  Socialist  orator.  Ralph  knew  the 
speaker,  and  Mona  was  more  than  ordinarily  inter 
ested  in  the  argument.  They  then  took  a  Broadway 
car  and  returned  to  their  home. 

Mona  was  full  of  ardor,  and  questioned  Ralph 
not  a  little  about  the  speaker  and  his  tenets. 

Upon  Ralph's  meeting  Richter,  who  was  the 
Socialistic  speaker,  the  next  day,  he  informed  him 
of  the  unusual  interest  his  fiancee  took  in  his  address 


THE  MINISTER'S  ENDORSEMENT.     119 

and  informed  him  of  their  residential  test  of  hearts, 
and  wound  up  by  inviting  him  to  call,  and  gave  him 
his  card. 

While  at  breakfast  Wednesday  morning,  Ralph 
said :  "Mona,  dear,  don't  forget  that  a  little  old  cou 
ple,  up  in  Orange  County,  are  watching  the 
daily  mail,  anxiously  waiting  for  an  invitation  from 
you  for  them  to  pay  us  a  visit.  Mother  has  made 
us  some  apple-butter,  country  sausage,  scrapple, 
put  down  some  clover  honey,  and  a  lot  of  country 
blessings,  intermixed  with  stomach  disturbers,  which 
they  will  ship  just  as  soon  as  they  start  themselves, 
for  mother  thinks  she  will  have  to  be  here  when  it 
comes,  in  order  to  take  care  of  it  for  you." 

"I  will  write  a  note  this  evening,  and  you  can  have 
your  letter  written,  dear,  so  that  mine  can  be 
enclosed." 

"I  saw  the  Socialist  'tail-ender,'  and  invited  him 
to  call,  and  he  seemed  anxious  to  do  so.  I  am 
afraid,  dear,  that  he  will  inflict  an  uninteresting 
Socialist  lecture  upon  you,  for,  when  he  is  blessed 
with  a  good  listener,  he  is  like  the  brook,  he  'goes  on 
forever.' ' 

"Perhaps  I  may  learn  something  to  my  advan 
tage  from  him.  I  confess  I  could  not  endure  the 
thought  of  you  or  Papa  defending  one  of  those  hor- 


120  COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

rid  Anarchists  at  the  bar.  From  my  limited  knowl 
edge  of  the  subject,  I  can't  see  that  there  is  much,  if 
any,  difference  between  them.  If  they  were  put  into 
a  bag  and  shaken  up,  and  then  pulled  out,  hit-or- 
miss,  and  if  the  lucky  one  were  permitted  to  give  ut 
terance  to  his  dogmas,  I  should  not  know  whether 
he  were  an  Anarchist  or  a  Socialist." 

While  Ralph  was  finishing  his  cigar  that  evening, 
Mr.  Richter's  card  was  brought  up.  Ralph  told 
Mona  who  was  coming.  She  quietly  said :  "I  have 
been  at  the  Public  Library  to-day,  and  I  put  in  sev 
eral  hours  on  the  subjects  of  Socialism  and 
Anarchy." 

Mr.  Richter  advanced  to  meet  Mona,  when  pre 
sented  by  Ralph  as,  "Miss  Davidge,  my  fiancee; 
Herr  Richter.  My  friend,  Mr.  Richter,  Mona." 

Richter  was  tall,  well  made,  of  athletic  build, 
and  hair  cut  close,  with  a  heavy  shock  of  it  standing 
upright  above  his  forehead,  showing  a  large  and 
well-developed  head.  He  approached  her  reverently 
and  took  her  small  hand  in  his  huge  fist,  pressing  it 
gently,  and  looking  into  her  eyes  with  kindness. 

"Miss  Davidge,  it  gives  me  much  pleasure  and 
intellectual  happiness  to  meet  you.  Mr.  Guy  has 
informed  me  of  your  very  sensible  resolve,  and  I 
can't  but  express  my  admiration.  In  this  age  of 


THE  SOCIALIST  CALLS.  121 

man's  inflation  of  self  at  the  expense  of  woman's 
dwarfed  existence,  it  requires  not  a  little  firmness 
and  courage  for  a  young  woman  to  resolve  upon  a 
line  of  conduct  such  as  you  have  undertaken.  I 
know  that  while  every  manly  man  will  encourage 
you  by  his  faith  in,  and  admiration  for,  you,  your 
own  sex  will  sow  your  pathway  with  thorns,  shrugs 
and  sneers." 

"That  may  be  so,  Mr.  Richter,"  said  Mona,  "but 
I  was  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  one  who  has 
the  temerity  to  ignore  the  custom  of  centuries  would 
receive  scant  courtesy  at  the  hands  of  frivolous 
womanhood.  Having  no  conception  of  the  possible 
uprooting  of  the  evils  attending  ill-considered  mar 
riages,  they  cannot  appreciate  an  effort  to  depart 
from  the  degenerating  tendencies  thereof." 

"I  firmly  believe  it,  Miss  Davidge,  and  woman's 
passive  endurance  of  the  custom  of  ages  has  resulted 
in  her  conviction  that  anything  different  is  wrong. 
I  have  for  a  long  time  held  that  woman's  imprison 
ment  in  a  custom  welded  ages  ago  by  man's 
selfish  rule  was  wrong,  and  that  her  nature  was 
necessarily  dwarfed  by  that  ancient  custom.  Because 
woman  has  never  been  courageous  enough  to  rebel 
and  demand  her  rights,  this  move  of  yours  stands 
unique." 


122   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Justice  is  typified  by  the  figure  of  a  woman," 
said  Mona;  "and  it  is  strangely  at  variance  with 
woman's  enslaved  life.  It  would  seem  more  fit  that, 
instead  of  her  eyes  being  bandaged,  that  her  arms 
and  limbs  should  be  bound,  thus  typifying  her 
enslaved  state.  We  are  all  striving  for  happiness 
in  this  world,  and  all  hope  to  ultimately  find  it  in 
marriage.  The  many  unhappy  marriages  stand  as  a 
living  proof  that  our  system  of  selecting  a  partner 
is  wrong.  It  is  criminally  wrong  because  of  the 
baleful  influences  it  entails  upon  posterity — children 
born  of  disease-infected  parentage." 

"There  is  no  doubt,"  said  Richter,  "that  our  pres 
ent  system  is  wrong.  The  system  of  choosing  a 
partner  as  instituted  by  you  precludes  the  peril  to 
hoped-for  happiness  in  marriage  by  a  too  late  dis 
covery  of  a  temperamental  difference  between  two 
whose  characteristics  have  never  been  subjected  to 
a  thoughtful  study.  The  woman  who  will  not  will 
ingly  clasp  your  hand  in  friendship  and  bid  you 
God-speed  in  your  effort  to  emancipate  your  sex 
from  the  conventionalities  that  entrail  and  environ 
it,  lacks  that  something  known  in  man  as  manli 
ness.  I  do  not  know  how  to  call  it  in  woman.  The 
old  Hebraic  laws  recognized  woman  as  belonging 
to,  and  made  for,  man ;  all  their  laws  and  enactments 


THE  SOCIALIST'S  ENDORSEMENT.     123 

were  framed  in  accord  with  the  idea  that  woman 
was  but  a  part  of  man — the  equivalent  of  man's 
slave — to  glorify  man  and  to  raise  unto  him  a  fam 
ily  of  sons  and  daughters.  The  influence  of  that 
semi-slavery  of  your  sex  is  still  anchored  in  the 
faith  of  mankind.  If  your  heroic  effort  in  behalf 
of  womankind  had  been  inaugurated  by  a  Queen 
Elizabeth,  she  would  have  been  hailed  to-day  as  a 
savior,  and  perhaps  been  canonized." 

"You  mistake  my  act,"  said  Mona,  "when  you 
classify  it  as  heroic.  I  just  simply  intend  to  know  my 
own  heart  before  I  give  my  hand  in  marriage  to  Mr. 
Guy  or  to  any  other  man,  and,  incidentally,  I  shall 
endeavor  to  know  whether  Mr.  Guy's  feelings  for 
me  are  of  such  a  character  that  they  will  endure  the 
test  of  time.  I  realize  that  woman's  nature,  I  mean 
the  average  woman's,  is  so  wanting  in  character  that 
she  cannot  imagine  or  believe  that  I  can  maintain  my 
womanhood  and  not  become  a  vassal  to  sin  while  liv 
ing  with  Mr.  Guy.  The  nature  of  some  women  re 
quires  a  guardianship  and  environment  to  save  her 
self,  not  so  much  from  man,  the  natural  enemy  of  her 
weakness,  but  from  her  own  weak  nature.  Her  mental 
calibre  is  such  that  she  can't  for  a  minute  compre 
hend  that  all  women  are  not  as  weak  as  herself,  and 
she  could  not  be  convinced  that  opportunity  is  not 


124   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

the  ultimate  test  of  any  woman's  strength.  That, 
unless  she  be  hedged  about  with  chaperones,  her 
reputation  for  decency  is  justly  forfeited,  and  that 
she  can  lay  no  claim  to  chastity  after  an  opportunity 
for  her  downfall  has  happened." 

"I  would  like  to  ask  you  some  questions,  Mr. 
Richter  about  the  propaganda  in  which  you  are 
enlisted.  Mr.  Guy  and  I  stood  at  the  corner  a  few 
evenings  ago,  where  you  were  then  engaged  in 
speaking,  and  I  must  say  that  your  remarks  gave  me 
food  for  thought.  I  can't  fully  comprehend  what 
your  aim  is,  if  you  have  hope  of  seeing  even  the 
beginning  of  your  reform  during  your  life.  How 
long  have  you  been  a  convert  to  Socialism,  Mr. 
Richter?" 

"Since  I  was  about  seventeen  years  old.  I  am 
now  thirty-four,  so  you  see  I  have  been  a  student 
and  preacher  of  Socialism  for  about  seventeen  years, 
just  half  of  my  life.  When  a  boy  of  seventeen,  my 
teacher  in  the  gymnasium  gave  me  a  book  on  Social 
ism,  and  encouraged  me  in  reading  it  and  in  making 
a  study  of  the  subject." 

"Are  you  an  advocate  of  a  division  of  the  world's 
wealth?" 

"We  teach  that  land  should  be  owned  by  the  State, 
the  community,  and  not  by  individuals." 


SOCIALISM.  125 

"Are  you  an  advocate  of  the  division  of  the 
world's  wealth,  since  you  think  that  land  has  gotten 
into  the  wrong  hands?  Answer  me  as  directly  as 
you  can,  for  I  inferred  from  what  you  were  say 
ing,  just  as  we  stopped  near  your  wagon,  that  you 
advocated  that  the  wealth  of  the  many  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  comparatively  few,  and  that  it  should 
be  taken  from  them." 

"I  know,  as  every  reasoning,  mature  person 
knows,  that  no  man  by  honest  industry  can  earn 
or  acquire  thirty,  fifty,  or  sixty  millions  of  dollars. 
That  which  flows  into  his  coffers  by  the  million  is 
at  the  cost  of  the  many  who  are  mercilessly  robbed 
by  the  evil  machinations  of  these  accumulators  of 
colossal  fortunes.  They  rob  within  the  law,  hence 
the  law  is  defective.  The  laws  need  to  be  changed, 
so  that  they  cannot  go  on  year  after  year  despoiling 
those  of  lesser  means  and  making  them  paupers. 

"The  poor  thief,  caught  in  the  act  of  snatching 
food  from  the  grocer's  shelf  to  stay  the  pangs  of 
hunger,  or,  perhaps,  to  save  the  life  of  a  sick  wife, 
is  hurried  to  the  lockup,  and  within  twenty-four 
hours  is  found  expiating  the  breach  of  the  law  in 
the  chain-gang. 

"The  successful  manipulator  of  railroad  stocks 
and  bonds,  who  steals  a  railroad,  mortgages  it,  and 


126   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

with  this  ill-gotten  money  buys  another,  goes  on, 
year  after  year,  and  by  his  unconscionable  methods 
rolls  up  millions  upon  millions  'within  the  law.'  He 
drives  others  to  the  wall  and  into  bankruptcy.  If 
he  can  do  that  'within  the  law,'  then  the  law  is 
wrong,  and  should  be  changed.  That  is  what  we  are 
fighting.  We  want  these  robber  barons  brought  to 
the  bar  of  justice  and  punished. 

"We  believe  these  dishonest,  ill-gotten  millions 
should  be  given  back  to  those  who  were  despoiled 
of  them  or  put  into  the  Government  Treasury." 

"If  you  were  given  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  in  the  West  by  the  Government,  in  whom 
the  title  rests,  would  you  consider  it  a  violation  of 
your  tenets  to  accept  it  ?"  asked  Mona. 

"Socialists,"  said  Mr.  Richter,  "believe  that  the 
title  should  continue  to  rest  in  the  Government,  and 
that  a  nominal  rental  be  paid  to  the  parent  Govern 
ment,  enough  to  defray  its  expenses.  Believing  as 
I  do,  I  could  not  accept  it." 

"And  when  is  this  division  of  the  wealth  expected 
or  desired  to  take  place?" 

"Just  as  soon  as  our  party  is  strong  enough 
numerically  to  bring  about  the  enactment  of  laws 
causing  the  distribution.  You  ought  to  see  that  so 
much  wealth  segregated  from  the  masses  can't  but 


SOCIALISM.  127 

serve  to  make  gluttons  and  despots  of  the  few  own 
ing  it,  until  through  its  power,  and*it  is  all  power 
ful,  legislation  is  influenced,  judges  are  bribed,  juries 
are  bought  by  those  owning  the  railroads,  the  insur 
ance  companies,  the  banks,  coal  mines,  the  telegraph 
and  telephone  lines,  and  they  will  soon  own  our  bod 
ies  and  souls." 

"Did  you  ever  know  a  Socialist,"  asked  Mona, 
"who  owned  property  advocating  a  division  of  the 
world's  wealth?" 

"Oh,  there  are  such." 

"I  don't  wish  to  be  impertinent,  but  it  is  a  fair 
question  and  should  not  be  considered  personal. 
How  much  property  have  you  ?" 

"It  is  a  fair  question,  Miss  Davidge,  and  I  do 
not  take  offence  at  it.  I  have  none.  My  entire  be 
longings,  if  I  were  called  upon  to  leave  New  York 
hurriedly,  aside  from  my  books,  and  they  are  at  our 
club  now,  could  be  placed  in  two  hand-bags." 

"Do  you  purposely  keep  your  supply  small,  and 
is  it  controlled  by  the  desire  to  be  able  to  leave 
hurriedly?" 

"No,  it  is  not.  I  give  my  clothes  away  to  poorer 
disciples  of  our  cause." 

"Then  if  the  division  of  the  world's  wealth  were 
to  take  place  now,  you  would  have  nothing  to  give 


128   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

and  a  fair  per  capita  distribution  would  enrich  you. 
Would  it  not?" 

"I  am  not  animated  by  any  hope  that  our  doc 
trine  will  ever  enrich  me  by  a  distribution  during 
my  natural  life-time. 

"If  we  can  awaken  an  interest  in  the  minds  of 
this  generation,  so  that  they  will  preach  the  re 
form  that  we  advocate,  the  day  of  reckoning  will 
come  sooner  or  later.  Agitation  against  serfdom 
and  slavery  was  preached  for  many  years  before  it 
took  hold  and  moved  the  masses  to  demand  their 
freedom.  If  you  had  asked  William  Lloyd  Gar 
rison,  Wendell  Phillips,  Horace  Greeley,  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  and  others  of  the  Abolitionists,  when 
they  expected  to  see  the  slaves  emancipated,  they 
would  have  told  you  that  they  had  no  hope  of  living 
to  see  it  accomplished,  and  yet  they  all  witnessed 
it  before  they  died.  They  preached  against  the 
sin  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  sentiment  that 
they  hoped  would  crystalize  and  bring  about  the 
change  in  years  to  come.  Pennsylvania  was  the 
first  State  that  emancipated  her  slaves,  and  that  was 
in  the  year  of  1780,  just  eighty-three  years  before 
the  issuance  of  the  proclamation  of  emancipation 
by  President  Lincoln." 


SOCIALISM.  129 

"Do  all  Anarchists  start  out  by  a  study  of  So 
cialism?" 

"Yes,  largely,  I  believe." 

"Then  is  not  a  Socialist  an  Anarchist  in  chry 
salis?" 

"No,  I  cannot  admit  that.  We  are  opposed  to 
Anarchism.  It  is  our  greatest  barrier  to  the  con 
fidence  of  the  people,  because  the  people,  like  you, 
for  instance,  seem  unable  to  differentiate  between 
Socialism  and  Anarchism.  If  it  were  not  for  the 
fact  that  the  Anarchists  so  often  pose  under  the 
banner  of  Socialism,  the  people  would  take  more 
kindly  to  our  argument,  and  would  give  us  credit 
for  an  honest  intent,  at  least.  If  it  were  in  our 
power  to  drive  all  the  Anarchists  out  of  America, 
we  would  do  it;  for  then  we  would  be  listened  to, 
and,  once  we  got  the  people's  attention  and  confi 
dence,  and  got  them  thinking,  we  would  make  pro 
gress  rapidly.  We  never  preach  Anarchism." 

"But  the  Socialist  clubs,"  urged  Mona,  "are  the 
hot-beds  where  Anarchists  congregate  to  hear  dis 
content  preached  by  a  class  of  trained  and  educated 
debaters.  He  hears  nothing  but  the  criticism  of 
the  laws  that  govern  him  and  the  system  that  ob 
tains  in  our  country  in  which  he  has  made  his  home. 
He  was  poor  in  his  own  country  and  he  is  poor 


130   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

in  this  one,  but  he  hears  discontent  preached  to  him 
in  his  own  tongue;  of  the  rich  getting  richer  and 
the  poor  growing  poorer,  and  that  the  rich  govern 
the  poor  with  an  iron  hand.  That  poor  benighted 
soul  feels  from  the  conditions  preached  to  him  that 
he  wants  to  do  something  to  relieve  the  world  of 
this  oppression  like  that  from  which  he  fled  from 
his  foreign  home,  and  in  his  ignorance,  he  can  see 
no  other  way  than  to  take  the  life  of  someone  whom 
he  thinks  represents  this  oppression,  whether  it  be 
one  of  the  alleged  Predatory  Rich  or  some  high 
official  like  the  President,  whom  he  classifies  with 
the  king  or  emperor  of  his  native  land." 

"No,  Miss  Davidge,  you  are  wrong  there,  except 
that  tUcy  are  at  liberty,  as  is  everyone  else,  to  listen 
to  our  lectures  on  the  street  or  in  our  halls;  but, 
as  I  have  said  before,  we  never  preach  Anarchism, 
nor  do  we  question  the  belief  of  our  hearers.  If 
Anarchists  come  to  our  meetings,  we  do  not  know 
it.  It  is  true  that  we  preach  discontent  with  the 
system.  We  do  not  charge  any  one  person  with 
the  responsibility.  It  is  the  system  that  we  oppose. 
If  these  Anarchists  were  to  attend  a  political  gath 
ering,  they  would  hear  dishonesty,  theft,  bribery, 
and  all  the  sins  of  the  decalogue  charged  against  the 
opposite  party  and  individual  names  given.  He 


SOCIALISM.  131 

would  hear  the  political  stump  orator  charge  that 
the  Predatory  Rich  are  robbing  the  poor  and  cor 
rupting  the  officials,  and  that  the  robbers  all  be 
long  to  the  party  in  power. 

"The  weak-minded  hearer  may  be  influenced,  as 
no  doubt  he  is,  the  same  as  the  seeker  after  re 
ligion  is  influenced  to  embrace  Christianity.  He  is 
overcome  with  a  Christian  fervor  and  believes  that 
he  hears  the  voice  of  the  Lord  commanding  him 
to  take  the  life  of  someone,  and  he  kills,  believing 
he  is  ordered  to  do  so  by  his  Lord.  It  is  like  old 
Abraham,  who  believed  that  the  Lord  spoke  unto 
him  and  ordered  him  to  offer  up  Isaac  as  a  sacrifice 
to  the  Lord.  The  crazed  convert  to  Christianity 
believes  that  he  hears  the  Lord  calling  upon  him 
to  take  the  life  of  his  wife  or  child,  and  a  life  is 
taken,  and  he  goes  to  the  Insane  Asylum,  as  so 
many  have  gone  before  him,  victims  of  the  tangle 
of  religious  fervor;  he  took  on  more  than  his  weak 
mind  could  grapple  with,  and  the  mind  gave  way. 

"The  minister  who  preached  the  exhorting  ser 
mon  is  not  to  blame.  He  had  no  way  of  knowing 
that  a  weak  intellect  was  trying  to  grasp  the  sub 
ject,  nor  could  he  know  that  insanity  would  follow 
his  effort  to  save  souls,  and  he  is  not  responsible 
for  the  consequences. 


132   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"The  political  demagogue  and  agitator  preaches 
about,  and  vituperates,  the  Predatory  Rich.  It  is 
not  the  Socialist.  We  make  no  personal  attack ;  we 
wage  our  warfare  against  the  system. 

"When  you  see  the  systematic  wrecking  of  in 
dustrial  corporations,  squeezing  the  poor  and  small 
investor  out  by  burdening  it  with  large  indebted 
ness,  and  all  done  under  cover  of  the  law,  and  hear 
it  charged  that  this  buccaneer  is  rolling  in  wealth 
obtained  by  such  acts  and  is  never  arraigned  be 
fore  the  courts  of  justice,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  the  poor  think  that  the  rich  are  immune  to 
the  law,  and  it  is  smaller  wonder  that  there  are  not 
more  of  the  rich  robbers  killed." 

"I  realize,  Mr.  Richter,  that  responsibility  for  the 
acts  of  Anarchism  rests  largely  at  the  door  of  So 
cialism  as  we  understand  it,  and  while  you  disclaim 
that  responsibility  as  a  teacher  of  Socialism,  your 
students  lack  the  power  to  analyze  philosophically 
all  the  conditions  governing  communities  and  gov 
ernments,  and  the  fabric  of  government  is  blamed 
for  the  misfortunes  that  ofttimes  are  caused  or 
brought  about  by  the  mistakes  of  the  discontented 
individual. 

"That  you  have  gone  into  a  life-work  of  teaching 
Socialism  in  which  you  attack  our  great  and  gen- 


EUGENICS.  133 

erous  Government,  and  demand  a  disruption  of  our 
plan  of  ownership  of  property  as  a  cure  for  your 
imaginary  ills,  without  first  balancing  your  respon 
sibility  with  duty  as  a  naturalized  citizen,  speaks 
very  badly  for  your  patriotism.  America  invites  you 
to  her  shores  through  her  untold  advantages  over 
your  foreign  governments,  emancipates  you  from 
tyrany,  clothes  you  with  the  citizenship  of  the  great 
est  sovereignty  that  the  sun  shines  upon,  and  you  re 
pay  her  generosity  with  teaching  discontent  and  the 
sowing  of  discord  amongst  a  low-browed  class  of 
foreigners,  whose  conception  of  reform  is  the  snuff 
ing  out  of  the  life  of  a  great  statesman,  a  captain 
of  finance,  or  anyone  who  may  seemingly  be  a  bar 
or  temporary  stay  to  the  ambitious  student  of 
Socialism." 

"Miss  Davidge,  pardon  me  for  abruptly  changing 
the  subject.  Socialism  is  such  a  momentous  con 
ception  of  the  rights  of  man  on  earth,  that  I  cannot 
bring  myself  to  press  my  views  upon  you  while  pay 
ing  a  social  call.  I  admire  your  intellect  and  cour 
age.  I  am  a  bold  teacher  of  Socialism,  and  have 
come  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  a  teacher  of  a  higher 
culture  than  I  can  ever  hope  to  attain.  It  will  give 
me  great  pleasure  to  discuss  from  your  viewpoint 
the  ethics  involved  in  your  great  departure  from 


134   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

the  conventionalities  of  society,  as  it  at  present 
obtains.  Please  grant  me  the  favor  of  your  views 
on  the  subject." 

"If,  Mr.  Richter,  I  were  to  give  a  succinct  expres 
sion  of  my  conception  of  what  you  are  pleased  to  call 
my  departure  from  the  conventionalities  of  society, 
it  would  be  'moral  duty.'  'A  part  of  the  science  of 
human  nature  and  society.'  We  all  owe  a  duty  to 
mankind.  Pope  says,  'The  proper  study  of  Man 
kind  is  Man.'  I  use  the  broader  term  of  mankind 
as  applied  to  the  descendants  of  man  and  woman. 
We  owe  a  debt  to  ourselves  and  to  posterity.  We 
should,  as  good  citizens,  so  live  as  to  leave  behind 
us  a  legacy  of  worth  with  a  sound  body  and  per 
fect  health  rather  than  of  riches.  How  can  we  do 
it?  Not  by  living  a  life  of  mere  gratification  of 
self,  the  butterfly-life  of  society,  nor  by  uniting  in 
marriage  the  rich  legacies  of  accumulated  wealth. 
Certainly  not  by  trading  wealth  for  the  degenerate 
scion  of  a  far-fetched,  so-called  royalty,  and  with 
an  ambition  to  get  within  the  outer  circle  of  court 
life  on  the  one  side  of  this  trade  or  barter,  and  on  the 
other  side  to  give  an  empty  title,  and  with  it  a  worth 
less  roue  for  an  American  inheritance.  The  de 
scendants  from  such  connubial  mismatings  cannot 
be  expected  to  elevate  mankind.  While  it  is  a  no- 


EUGENICS.  135 

ticeable  fact  that  the  women  of  the  twentieth  cen 
tury  are  taller,  and  better  proportioned  physically, 
than  were  the  generations  preceding  them,  it  is 
equally  noticable  that  man  is  deteriorating  phys 
ically.  The  reason  for  this  I  cannot  give.  Ma 
ternity  is  a  sacred  mission  if  such  can  be  found 
on  this  earth.  I  can  conceive  of  no  higher  or  holier 
aim  in  life.  The  irresponsible  joining  of  two  lives 
in  marriage,  without  knowledge  as  to  the  existence 
of  natural  tastes  or  dispositions  between  them  and 
of  the  absence  of  disease,  is  worse  than  harlotry, 
because  it  crushes  out  all  hope  of  happiness  to  the 
actors  in  the  sad  drama,  and  too  often  burdens  their 
posterity  with  dwarfed  intellects. 

"The  indifference  of  the  marriageable  to  the  ques 
tion  of  the  health  of  each  other  whom  they  con 
template  marrying  is  deplorable,  and  its  bearing 
upon  their  future  is  limited  to  the  consideration  of 
whether  the  sufferer  from  the  ailment  will  have 
sufficiently  recovered  so  as  to  not  prevent  their  nup 
tials. 

"Thoughts  of  its  probable  effect  upon  their  pos 
terity  never  enter  their  minds,  and  the  duty  they  owe 
to  the  debt  of  nature  in  the  selection  of  a  proper 
mate  is  wholly  foreign  to  their  consideration.  The 
young  woman  gives  far  more  thought  to  the  har- 


136   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

mony  of  colors  in  the  decorative  wedding  bonnet  in 
which  she  expects  to  appear  on  the  occasion  of  her 
first  after-wedding  appearance  at  church  than  she 
does  to  the  far  more  important  subject  of  eugenics. 

"If  the  subject  of  eugenics  ever  intrudes  in  the 
brains  of  the  money-mad  American,  it  is  disposed 
of  by  a  shrug  and  the  thought,  'I  and  mine  are 
no  worse  than  the  rest  of  them,'  and  with  money 
in  their  pockets  they  may  hold  their  heads  as  high 
as  any. 

"Marriage  should  have  for  its  sole  aim  a  better 
ment  of  the  human  race  through  its  progeny,  and 
without  a  cohesion  of  two  souls,  harmoniously  and 
physically  matched,  marriage  is  but  inviting  a  mis 
carriage  of  that  great  aim. 

"The  eudaemonism  of  this  century  is  the  philo 
sophy  of  getting  rich  and  is  the  highest  object  of 
man,  while  happiness,  as  well  as  all  else,  is  made 
subordinate  to  that  one  ambition.  This  is  a  ter 
rible  condition.  Happiness  cannot  be  secured  or 
bought  by  the  possession  of  wealth. 

"Look  at  the  great  strides  that  surgery  and  chem 
istry  have  made  in  fifty  years.  Look  at  the  evolu 
tion  in  all  classes  of  machinery.  Man  is  not  satis 
fied  with  the  mediocre  in  anything  in  the  material 
life,  except  in  the  selection  of  his  wife.  He  strives 


EUGENICS.  137 

to  improve  the  strain  in  his  cattle ;  he  goes  on  im 
proving  the  powerful  engine  so  that  it  may  be 
stronger  and  better,  the  printing  press,  automobiles, 
street  cars,  and  in  fact  everything  except  the  human 
race. 

"In  order  to  get  a  better  kernel  of  corn,  or  wheat, 
or  oats  or  barley,  he  selects  the  best,  plants  it,  and 
from  that  crop  he  again  selects  the  best,  plants  that, 
and,  from  that  raising,  he  again  selects  the  best 
for  the  next  planting.  The  harvest  is  important 
because  it  affects  his  income.  But  what  of  the  im 
provement  of  the  human  race?  Have  you  ever 
heard  of  any  effort  in  that  direction?  Has  man 
reached  the  limit  because,  in  his  pursuit  after  wealth, 
he  has  amassed  colossal  fortunes?  What  of  the 
brain  culture?  Is  it  improved  or  cultivated  at  all, 
except  in  the  form  of  education?  Certainly  the 
material  has  not. 

"It  is  a  fact  well  known  in  medical  annals  that 
inter-marriage  of  families  is  a  direct  cause  of  men 
tal  and  physical  deterioration.  If  that  is  a  scien 
tific  fact,  then  it  follows  that  by  selection,  an  im 
provement  in  man  and  woman  can  be  brought  about 
with  as  much  certainty  as  in  the  cereal  and  animal 
kingdom. 

"Why  this  greatest  and  most  important  field  of 


138   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

improvement  has  been  overlooked  and  neglected  for 
all  these  generations  in  man's  march  onward  to 
greatness,  is  past  rinding  out. 

"If  the  science  of  selection  is  applied  to  mankind 
as  it  is  to  the  cereal  and  animal  kingdom,  the  re 
sult  will  be  as  rich  in  reward  as  it  is  in  the  fields 
already  exploited. 

"Statistics  of  the  United  States  and  of  this  State 
show  us  how  rapidly  insanity  is  on  the  increase. 
All  the  asylums  full,  and  all  asylums  increasing  their 
capacity,  and  the  County  House  containing  thou 
sands  for  which  there  is  no  room  in  the  asylums. 
This  alone  ought  to  attract  the  attention  of  alienists 
to  a  cause  and  a  preventive.  That  preventive  may 
be  found  in  selection  of  wives  and  husbands  by  a 
wise  method.  Do  I  make  myself  understood  ?" 

"Yes,  Miss  Davidge,  and  I  am  a  devoted  con 
vert  to  your  ethics,  and  whether  you  call  it  the 
science  of  human  nature  and  society,  the  science  of 
selection,  or  what  not,  I  believe  that  you  are  much 
nearer  the  solution  of  the  question  of  the  betterment 
of  society  than  is  Socialism.  You  have  given  me 
much  to  think  of,  and  I  shall  not  lay  the  subject 
aside  without  much  and  deliberate  consideration." 

"Mr.  Richter,  you  can  do  far  more  for  the  bet 
terment  of  society  than  I  can  by  assailing  Anar- 


EUGENICS.  139 

chism,  and  preaching  contentment  with  the  laws  of 
the  land.  We  have  enough  laws;  too  many,  in 
fact ;  and  our  greatest  need  is  their  proper  and  rigid 
enforcement." 

"Miss  Davidge,  you  have  awakened  a  train  of 
thought  entirely  new  to  me.  We  know  that  the 
patriarchs  of  old — Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and 
others  of  that  day — were  intent  alone  on  peopling  the 
earth.  Eugenics  was  not  a  subject  of  concern  to 
them.  They  believed  that  they  were  the  chosen 
people  of  God,  and  so  feeling,  they  had  no  aspira 
tions  to  improve  the  stock  from  which  they  sprang. 
It  was  numbers  that  concerned  them.  Race  suicide 
was  an  unpardonable  sin,  and  barrenness  was  a  dis 
grace,  and  accepted  as  evidence  of  the  Lord's  curse. 
To-day,  with  rare  exceptions,  we  have  race  suicide 
as  a  rule  among  the  cultured  rich.  The  hope  of 
increase  in  our  population  concerns  them  not. 
Child-bearing  would  interfere  with  their  rounds  of 
gaiety  and  pleasures,  hence  the  subject  of  increase 
of  our  population  is  left  to  the  foreigner  and  the 
poor  in  our  midst.  Not  so  with  the  royal  families 
of  the  old  world,  who  have  an  incentive  to  have 
large  families.  The  perpetuation  of  their  dynasty 
depends  upon  their  forming  alliances,  hence  they 
have  by  design  large  numbers  of  children  for  inter- 


140   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

marriage  with  reigning  families  of  other  nations. 
Did  they  but  combine  eugenics  with  increase,  we 
might  find  a  development  of  intellect  and  worth 
which  would  appeal  to  a  respect  for,  and  love  of, 
royalty. 

"In  their  official  selections  of  a  husband  for  a 
princess  of  the  realm  or  a  wife  for  the  heir-ap 
parent,  the  one  thought  that  predominates  is  to 
strengthen  the  empire  by  associating  the  great  houses 
from  other  empires. 

"Where  wisdom  and  intelligence  are  so  much 
needed  for  the  benefit  of  the  nation,  that  subject 
is  forgotten  in  the  mad  rush  for  power  and  strength 
of  the  dynasty. 

"In  America,  where  race  suicide  is  depopulating 
the  wealthy  and  educated  circles,  and  dissipation 
doing  so  much  to  undermine  and  weaken  them,  the 
hope  for  increase  is  dependent  upon  the  middle 
classes  and  the  foreign  element,  hence  we  can  have 
no  hope  for  the  application  of  the  principles  of 
eugenics.* 

*  The  Eugenic  Educational  Society,  of  London,  England, 
is  authority  for  the  recently  published  statement  that  the  birth 
rate  in  England  had  decreased  from  36  in  1878  to  26  in  1909. 
The  prognostication,  too,  is  even  more  alarming  regarding 
the  physical  degeneracy  of  the  English  race,  which  is  going 
on  at  an  alarming  rate,  and  that  if  the  process  continues  at 
its  present  rate,  in  three  more  generations  the  English  stock 


EUGENICS.  141 

"Eugenics  is  more  than  a  sentiment;  it  is  a 
science  worthy  the  earnest  consideration  and  study 
of  our  educators  and  scientists.  Race  suicide  has 
been  condemned  from  high  authoritative  source,  but 
has  its  condemnation  shown  a  perceptible  increase 
in  the  birth-rate? 

"Were  marriage  legally  controlled  and  super 
vised  by  official  rules,  the  nation  would  not  only 
be  highly  benefited,  but,  as  you  said,  our  hospitals 
and  poor  houses  would  not  be  crowded  beyond  their 
capacity  with  lunatics,,  imbeciles  and  cripples. 

"There  is  no  evidence  that  man  has  improved 
during  the  last  thousand  years.  Perhaps  he  is  more 
highly  educated  and  has  taken  on  a  degree  of  ap 
parent  refinement,  or  that  which  passes  as  culture, 
but  is  he  intellectually  better  endowed  than  was 
man  in  the  remote  ages  ?  There  is  no  evidence  that 
he  is. 

"Take  a  review  of  the  families  descended  from 
our  great  Americans  of  history,  when  they,  left 
families.  Deterioration  is  the  rule. 

"Your  ethics  give  rise  to  the  question  what  we 
might  naturally  have  hoped  had  those  great  minds 


from  being  one  of  the  best  in  the  world,  will  be  one  of  the 
poorest.  This  is  a  result  of  restraining  the  size  of  families 
in  a  large  degree  and  also  from  luxurious  habits. 


i42   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

of  the  past  chosen  their  mates  with  a  view  to  per 
petuating  a  stronger  race  of  men.  Truly  your  con 
ception  of  the  needs  of  mate-choosing  is  pregnant 
of  a  greater  evolution  than  is  Socialism." 

Mr.  Richter's  respect  for  Mona  was  very  mani 
fest  in  his  leave-taking. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  minister  and  his  wife  called  up  Mona  by  tele 
phone  on  the  following  evening,  and  asked  the 
privilege  of  calling  upon  her.  Inasmuch  as  they 
had  not  met  Ralph,  Mona  was  gratified  to  have 
them  choose  the  evening  for  making  their  call,  so 
that  they  could  have  that  opportunity,  hence  when 
Ralph  arrived  in  the  afternoon  she  was  early  to 
inform  him  of  the  intended  call. 

The  evening  was  particularly  pleasant,  and  a 
beautifully  bright  moonlight  one,  and  just  before 
the  minister  and  wife  sent  up  their  cards,  Mr.  Trill 
from  Ralph's  home  in  Orange  County,  with  his 
young  wife,  called,  and  were  in  the  parlor  when 
the  minister  and  his  wife  arrived. 

Mrs.  Trill  was  a  country  belle,  plump  of  face 
and  figure,  with  a  mouth  drooping  at  the  corners, 
and  rosy  complexion,  who  saw  the  world  through 
the  eyes  of  her  husband.  From  the  awesome  way 

143 


144   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

that  she  raised  her  eyes  to  Mona  when  that  lady 
addressed  her,  it  was  quite  evident  that  she  did 
not  know  whether  to  fear  or  worship  her. 

The  Dominie  with  his  wife  entered;  he,  in  a  sort 
of  high-stepping  manner  with  a  proprietary  air, 
was  effusive  in  his  greeting  to  Mona,  pleasant  to 
Ralph,  and  condescending  to  the  Trills. 

The  weather  received  its  due  in  praise,  and  the 
flat,  with  its  blessings,  was  duly  considered.  The 
pause  that  usually  follows  the  discussion  of  the 
weather  ensued  as  usual,  when  the  reverend  gentle 
man  took  advantage  of  the  silence,  and  rather  ab 
ruptly  asked,  "Mona,  dear,  tell  me  when  you  first 
resolved  to  attack  the  sociological  problem  so  prac 
tically  and  boldly.  I  confess  to  a  surprise  and  ad 
miration,  not  unmixed  with  curiosity,  at  your  course, 
and  I  would  learn  what  gave  birth  to  a  subject  so 
filled  with  hope  of  happy  marriages.  We  have 
read  of  so-called  trial  marriages,  all  impractical  and 
repugnant  in  a  high  degree,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
demoralizing  influence  it  must  necessarily  entail 
upon  society.  It  remained  for  you  to  strike  the 
only  practical,  sensible,  and  clean  test  of  happy  mar 
riages.  Please  tell  us  of  it." 

"Doctor,  you  overwhelm  me  with  your  profusion 
of  praise,  and  I  am  at  a  loss  for  words  to  sustain 


THE  MINISTER'S  ENTHUSIASM.     145 

properly  the  position  you  place  me  in.  I  confess  to 
a  personal  influence  in  the  origin  of  the  thought 
It  was  born  of  reading  of  so  many  failures,  and 
unhappy  endings  of  marriages.  I  had  my  own 
ideas  of  love  and  marriage,  and  the  manner  of  es 
caping  the  matrimonial  infelicities  became  a  sub 
ject  of  deep  and  concentrated  thought. 

"I  am  not  sure  that  I  am  not  a  convert  to  the 
one-marriage-in-life  theory,  whether  it  be  a  happy 
or  unhappy  marriage.  If  unhappy,  then  a  legal  sep 
aration,  but  not  remarriage  except  with  the  original 
partner,  upon  a  reconciliation. 

"A  happy  marriage,  in  my  mind,  is  a  holy  mar 
riage,  and  more  than  one  holy  marriage  in  a  single 
life  seems  incompatible  with  nature.  Where  my 
love  is  placed,  it  carries  with  it  my  compact  to  en 
dure  through  life.  When  death  takes  from  me 
that  life-partner,  I  feel  that  if  I  truly  loved,  I  would 
wish  to  die  too,  and  to  cross  the  shadow  of  death 
with  the  partner  of  my  joys  and  sorrows  here  on 
earth,  hand  in  hand. 

"The  choosing  of  a  husband  is  a  serious  problem 
for  any  woman,  and  that  so  many  failures  follow 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  consider  that  we, 
too  often,  are  totally  ignorant  of  the  dispositions 
of  each  other.  We  cannot  read  dispositions  as  we 


146   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

can  an  open  book.  We  not  only  lack  the  acumen 
due  to  experience,  but  we  lack  opportunity.  There 
is  no  life  so  deceptive  as  that  of  persons  who  are 
surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  romantic  attach 
ment  for  one  of  the  opposite  sex.  They  see  through 
a  prism  of  illusion,  living  in  an  enchanted  palace,  as 
it  were,  and  are  not  capable  of  mature  and  concen 
trated  thought  upon  the  subject.  We  require  time 
and  habit  to  properly  weigh  each  other,  and  more 
than  all  else,  we  need  opportunity  for  introspection. 

"I  hold  it  as  all-important  that  I  should  know  the 
sincerity  of  my  love  for  the  man  of  my  choice  as 
well  as  to  know  whether  he  loves  me.  The  symp 
toms  are  so  deceptive  that  time  alone  will  enable 
one  to  differentiate  between  a  romantic  attachment 
and  true  love. 

"As  a  rule,  more  time  and  consideration  are  given 
to  the  subject  of  selecting  a  boarding  school  for  a 
young  lady  than  are  given  to  determining  whether 
the  symptoms  affecting  her  heart  are  love. 

"The  question  involving  a  life-time  of  happiness 
is  entitled  to  mature  thought  and  study,  and  I  know 
of  no  better  way  to  accomplish  it  than  by  a  study 
of  disposition  during  a  period  of  home  life. 

"When  an  attachment  springs  up  between  two 
persons  of  the  opposite  sex,  it  is  sure  to  be  accom- 


THE  MINISTER'S  ENTHUSIASM.     147 

panied  by  a  fictitious  estimate  of  each  by  the  other. 
Their  friends  who  witness  the  romance,  looking  on 
without  influence  or  prejudice,  may  wonder,  in  sur 
prise,  what  each  sees  in  the  other.  He,  if  his  feel 
ing  is  genuine,  surrounds  the  young  woman  with 
an  angelic  halo  which  precludes  his  seeing  the  hol- 
lowness  of  her  character,  while  she  clothes  the  man 
with  heroism,  wisdom  and  goodness  which  he  may 
not  possess  and  which  no  other  person  sees.  In 
fact,  they  are  the  last  to  see  the  fictitiousness  of  each 
other,  and  when  their  eyes  are  opened  to  the  truth, 
it  is  too  late. 

"Again,  she  may  be  actuated  by  the  sole  and  self 
ish  desire  of  securing  for  herself  a  husband  and 
a  home,  and  not  having  any  genuine  attachment  for 
the  man  she  marries,  while  he  may  be  genuinely  in 
love  with  her,  and  thus  be  deceived  into  marrying 
an  unworthy  woman,  whose  heart  is  not  enlisted 
in  his  welfare  at  all. 

"Believing  as  I  do,  I  can  see  no  way  whereby 
the  truth  shall  obtain  except  by  a  home  life  for  a 
period  of  time  and  study. 

"This  may  seem  visionary  and  sentimental,  Doc 
tor,  but  it  is  the  way  that  I  see  true  love." 

"True,  Mona,  it  does  seem  to  verge  on  sentimen 
tality.  But  sentiment  is  the  bulwark  of  all  friend- 


148   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

ships  and  all  loves,  and,  without  sentiment,  life  is 
not  worth  the  living.  Two  hearts  joined  in  an  un 
selfish  love,  moved  by  a  single  impulse  of  devotion 
to  the  other,  goes  deeper  into  the  soul-life  of  man 
kind  than  any  other  sentiment.  It  is  a  beautiful 
thought  that  you  have  just  expressed,  that  when 
death  lays  violent  hands  on  the  one  that  the  life- 
partner  should  also  be  taken  to  continue  the  jour 
ney  in  the  beyond,  hand  in  hand." 

"If  we  knew  more  of  the  animal  or  bird  life," 
continued  Mona,  "we  might  take  some  better  les 
sens  in  constancy  and  devotion  that  we  can  get  from 
animal  man.  It  is  a  beautiful  example  set  us  by 
the  ostrich  wife  or  widow.  When  her  spouse  dies, 
she  remains  a  widow  ever  after,  and  will  not  take  up 
with  nor  marry  another  male  ostrich.  This  is  the 
only  authentic  instance  known  to  me,  but  I  have  no 
doubt  if  we  could  pursue  our  studies  and  obser 
vations  into  the  wilds,  other  instances  of  that  de 
votion  would  become  known  to  us. 

"The  true,  pure  love  of  one  good  man,  if  vouch 
safed  me,  is  all  I  shall  hope  for  in  this  life.  The 
duties  of  a  wife  carry  with  them  obligations  and 
devotion  that  are  enough  for  one  woman.  The  re 
sponsibilities  of  a  mother,  properly  discharged,  is 
a  life-work  for  any  woman  devoted  to  duty,  and 


THE  MINISTER'S  ENTHUSIASM.     149 

if  she  neglects  that  holy  duty  of  mother,  it  were 
better  far  that  she  should  end  her  life-failure  by 
drowning  before  entering  into  the  solemn  obliga 
tions  of  a  wife." 

The  minister's  wife  gave  no  evidence  of  enthu 
siasm,  and  Ralph  seemed  to  be  amused  at  the  scep 
tical  glances  that  she  gave  the  dominie  when  he 
so  enthusiastically  endorsed  Mona's  sentiments  of 
devotion  to  home.  It  seemed  to  Ralph  that  she  was 
wondering  where  her  husband  had  kept  these  beau 
tiful  sentiments  concealed  all  these  years.  She 
beamed  on  Mona  and  patted  her  arm  at  parting,  as 
much  as  to  say,  "He's  a  fraud,  Mona,  and  don't  you 
be  misled  by  his  enthusiastic  endorsement  of  your 
venture.  They  are  all  alike,  all  frauds."  She  kissed 
Mona  in  a  motherly  fashion  on  both  cheeks,  and 
waddled  after  her  waddling  husband.  The  Trills 
followed  soon  after,  and  the  night  tempting  Mona, 
she  invited  Ralph  for  a  walk  before  retiring. 

During  the  walk,  Ralph  was  preoccupied,  and  had 
little  to  say. 

"I  was  glancing  over  Lucile  to-day,"  said  Mona, 
"and  I  could  not  but  feel  sorry  and  cast  down  at 
the  flippancy  of  Lord  Alfred  Vergrave  in  discussing 
Lucile  with  the  stranger  whom  he  met  on  the  road 
when  going  to  redeem  a  promise  made  to  Lucile 


150   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

to  return  her  letters  when  asked  for.  Lord  Alfred 
was  a  handsome,  heartless  and  selfish  egotist.  He 
loved  Lucile  and  was  intending  to  marry  Matilda 
Darcy.  He  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  Lucile 
loving  or  marrying  another.  The  egotist  dwarfed 
the  man  in  him  if  he  ever  had  any  manhood." 

"To  what  do  you  refer?"  asked  Ralph. 

"When  the  stranger,  having  responded  to  the  in 
quiry  of  Lord  Alfred  relative  to  the  reigning  belles 
at  Luchon  that  season,  named  Lucile  as  one,  and 
referred  to  the  evident  life-disappointment  of  that 
lady,  said: 

"  'One  would  wish,  for  the  sake  of  each  nursling  so 

nipped, 
To   catch    the   young   rascal   and   have   him   well 

whipped/ 

Lord  Alfred  coldly  questioned: 
"  'Some  compatriot  of  mine,  do  I  then  understand, 
With  a  cold  Northern  heart,  and  rude  English  hand, 
Has  injured  your  Rosebud  of  France?' ' 

"If  I  recall  the  thread  of  romance  between  them, 
it  was  a  case  of  the  biter  being  bitten.  She  was  a 
flirt  and  was  caught  in  his  honey,  and  it  happened 


RALPH'S  RESENTMENT.  151 

to  be  her  heart  that  was  hurt  instead  of  his,"  said 
Ralph,  coldly. 

"Oh,  dear,  you  cannot  so  coldly  set  aside  a 
wounded  heart.  Remember,  the  man  always  seeks 
and  makes  the  first  love  advances,  hence  is  the  ag 
gressive  party." 

"I  think  it  was  a  case  of  diamond  cut  diamond," 
said  Ralph. 

Mona's  heart  seemed  to  stop  beating  in  surprise 
and  anguish  at  hearing  this  cold  and  harsh  expres 
sion  from  the  man  whose  chivalry  had  heretofore 
seemingly  been  of  the  highest.  Could  she  have 
heard  aright?  "Diamond  cut  diamond."  She  was 
dumfounded  and  silent  during  the  rest  of  their 
brief  walk  homeward. 

Ralph  evidently  realized  that  he  had  spoken  un 
feelingly  and  assumed  a  more  sociable  air  by  the 
time  they  reached  the  hallway.  Mona  was  not  dis 
posed  to  resent  the  mood,  and  apparently  forgot 
the  incident ;  but  her  heart  was  hurt  at  the  ungallant 
remark.  She  felt  that  she  had  perhaps  seen  behind 
the  scenes  and  got  a  glimpse  of  the  manikin  with 
out  its  costume.  Would  she  some  time  feel  the 
blunt  of  that  disposition? 

When  she  sought  her  pillow,  Mona's  thoughts 
took  a  wide  range.  She  recalled  Ralph's  demeanor 


152   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

before  the  advent  of  the  company,  and  nothing  that 
she  remembered  to  have  seen  or  heard  indicated 
that  he  was  in  a  cross  or  petulant  humor. 

During  the  period  of  the  visit  of  their  callers, 
Mona  had  been  so  occupied  in  conversation  that  she 
had  scarcely  seen  his  face,  that  she  could  now  re 
call.  She  resolved  to  be  watchful,  and,  until  the 
morrow,  would  dismiss  from  her  mind  the  dis 
turbing  thought  and  would  sleep. 

Not  so  with  Ralph.  He  felt  restless  and  cross 
with  himself,  and  tossed  about  in  his  bed.  He  felt 
resentful  that  the  minister  and  all  the  other  visitors, 
first  Richter  and  then  the  others  in  detail,  all  vied 
with  each  other  in  giving  her  praise  and  paying 
homage  to  Mona  as  a  heroine.  Pray  what  had  she 
done  that  was  dissociated  with  him?  Why 
should  he  be  belittled  and  slighted.  True,  the  pro 
bationary  period  affair  was  evolved  by  her,  but  once 
settled  upon,  why  was  he  not  equal  in  every  respect  ? 
It  might  be  heroic  for  her,  but  his  young  men 
friends  were  disposed  to  treat  the  matter  with  levity, 
and  to  bestow  pity  upon  him  for  being  a  weakling. 
He  couldn't  understand  why  he  had  entered  into 
this  foolish  six-months'  contract,  nor  how  he  could 
get  through  it  with  credit  to  himself. 

Mona  was  up  early  enough  in  the  morning,  to 


RALPH'S  RESENTMENT.  1 53 

supervise  the  breakfast  herself,  and  did  much  to 
wards  making  the  tempting  meal  it  proved  to  be. 

When  Ralph  returned  from  his  office  the  next 
evening,  he  brought  a  more  cheerful  disposition, 
and  a  seeming  effort  was  manifest  to  make  amends 
for  the  brutal  manner  in  which  he  met  Mona's  criti 
cism  of  Lord  Alfred  for  his  dog-in-the-manger  treat 
ment  of  Lucile.  Mona  was  not  slow  to  preceive 
that  he  was  more  gracious  in  manner  and  that  his  de 
meanor  was  more  tender.  She  then  knew  that  her 
suspicions  were  correct  as  to  Ralph  being  in  a  cross 
mood  on  that  occasion,  and  she  placed  a  memoran 
dum  "moody  at  times"  in  her  diary. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Ralph  came  home  from  his  office  one  evening 
shortly  after  the  Richter  episode,  feeling  very  hilari 
ous  and  in  a  very  decidedly  better  mood  than  he 
had  been  in  for  some  days  past,  and  he  also  brought 
a  letter  from  his  mother  to  the  effect  that  they  would 
come  down  on  Monday  and  pay  them  a  visit. 

Mona  was  very  pleased  at  the  news,  and  planned 
to  go  out  the  next  day  and  purchase  a  bed-lounge 
and  put  it  up  in  the  sitting-room,  to  accommodate 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guy  during  their  sojourn. 

Bess  and  a  few  girl  friends  dropped  in  after 
dinner,  and  the  evening  passed  off  very  pleasantly, 
Ralph  doing  his  utmost  to  please  and  entertain 
them.  He,  with  considerable  show  of  pride,  told 
the  young  ladies  how  Mona  had  ingeniously  turned 
Richter's  set  speech  on  Socialism  against  the  "tail- 
end"  orator,  and  of  Richter's  self -acknowledged  de 
feat.  He  related  that  he  had  received  a  call  that  day 

154 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GUY'S  VISIT.        155 

at  his  office  from  the  redoubtable  Socialist  preacher, 
and  that  he  acknowledged  that  Mona  had  brought 
home  to  him,  as  he  had  never  seen  it  before,  the  re 
sponsibility  of  his  campaign  against  society  in  gen 
eral. 

Miss  Gertie  Stuart,  of  the  visiting  girls,  said  she 
had  called  upon  the  minister's  wife  that  afternoon, 
and  that  lady  was  loud  in  her  praise  of  Mona's 
principles,  and  had  commended  her  conduct,  and 
said  that  if  all  women  approached  the  question  of 
selecting  her  husband  as  Mona  was  doing,  there 
would  not  be  so  many  mistakes  nor  so  many  tears. 

"I  was  led  to  understand  that  the  Rev.  John 
Morrison  was  a  very  different  man  at  home  from 
the  man  of  God  in  the  pulpit  and  the  visiting  minis 
ter,"  said  Miss  Stuart. 

"Why,  I  think  Dr.  Morrison  a  very  charming  per- 
sos,"  said  Miss  Winter,  a  spinster  of  thirty-five. 

"I  rather  liked  the  Doctor,  both  as  a  preacher  and 
caller,"  said  Ralph,  "and  by  the  way,  dear,  you  ad 
vanced  a  statement  that  was  rather  new  to  me.  I 
refer  to  the  permanent  widowhood  of  the  female  os 
trich  after  the  male  ostrich  dies.  Where  did  you 
read  that?" 

"I  never  read  it.  Wrhen  papa  and  mamma  and 
I  were  in  South  Africa,  we  visited  an  ostrich  farm, 


156   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

and  an  old  herder  of  the  farm  pointed  out  several 
ostriches  which  he  said  were  widows,  and  he  told 
me  of  it.  He  had  been  herding  one  drove  for 
twenty  years,  and  he  declared  it  as  a  fact  that  when 
an  ostrich  husband  or  mate  dies,  that  the  widow 
never  marries  again." 

"It  certainly  appeals  to  the  sentimental  side  of 
love,"  said  Miss  Winter,  "and  concurs  with  my 
thought,  that  one  love  and  one  marriage  is  enough 
for  life." 

"It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  male  ostrich  is 
so  conscientious  and  devoted,  is  he,  Mona?"  asked 
Ralph. 

"My  informant  declared  he  was  not,"  said  Mona. 

"Young  ladies,"  said  Ralph,  "my  parents  are 
intending  to  visit  us  next  Monday,  and  I  assure  you 
it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  my  mother  if  you  will  pay 
her  a  visit  in  the  first  part  of  the  week.  Of  course, 
mother  being  from  the  farm,  a  farm  product  liter 
ally,  she  will  not  be  expected  to  be  a  lady  of  fashion 
or  a  paragon  of  style;  but  she  is  true  blue,  and  al 
ready  has  a  high  opinion  of  my  wife-that-is-to-be 
and  your  friend  of  years." 

"Oh,  we  will  be  delighted,  all  of  us,"  echoed  the 
young  ladies,  and  took  their  departure. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davidge  called  the  same  evening, 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GUY'S  VISIT.        157 

later,  and  were  pleased  to  hear  of  the  intended  visit 
of  the  parents  of  Mr.  Guy. 

After  their  departure,  Ralph  seemed  deep  in 
thought  for  a  while,  and  then  abruptly  asked  Mona, 
"Has  your  father  ever  intimated  anything  about  the 
possibility  of  his  taking  me  in  the  firm  with  him?" 

"No,  he  never  has  to  me.  Father  knows  that  I 
am  ambitious  to  graduate  at  law,  and  I  think  he  was 
disappointed  that  I  was  deflected  from  my  plans 
in  that  line  to  a  prospective  partnership  with  you." 

"Has  he  asked  you  whether  you  have  abandoned 
your  hope  of  graduating  in  law?" 

"No,  but  I  imagine  that  he  has  concluded  that  I 
will  make  more  of  a  study  of  my  marital  rights  to 
obtain  and  retain  my  legal  rights  to  my  husband's 
'love  and  affection'  than  to  gaining  a  sheepskin." 

"Are  you  to  prolong  this  agony  for  the  full  pe 
riod  of  the  six  months'  probation,  dear?" 

"Oh,  you  ungallant  lover !  To  refer  to  our  court 
ship  as  'prolonging  the  agony.'  Why,  I  thought  I 
was  rendering  your  life  quite  happy,  and  instead  it 
is  only  'prolonging  the  agony.'  I  am  happy,  and  I 
thought  you  were." 

"Dear,  you  are  making  me  happy;  at  least  as 
happy  as  a  starving  love  can  make  one  happy.  To 
be  held  in  doubt  and  suspense  for  the  period  of  six 


158      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

months  because  you  cannot  have  faith  in  me,  is 
harrowing  to  one  who  loves  as  devotedly  as  I  love 
you." 

"You  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  dear,  that 
I  have  less  confidence  in  my  own  love  than  I  have 
in  yours.  Please  do  not  view  it  from  the  preju 
diced  view  that  it  is  doubt  of  you  alone  that  bids 
me  pause.  Remember  that  when  you  met  me,  we 
were  entire  strangers,  and  further,  that  I  had  never 
even  heard  of  you  before.  On  the  question  of  lit 
erary  likes  and  dislikes,  we  seemed  to  agree,  and  got 
along  charmingly,  and  when  you  pressed  your  suit 
so  early,  I  thought  you  rash.  I  liked  your  person 
ality  in  so  far  as  I  understood  it.  I  was  charmed 
by  your  demeanor,  and  liked  your  eyes,  for  they 
looked  true.  But  I  did  not  think  of  loving  you, 
and  when  you  launched  the  proposition  of  marriage 
so  early,  of  course,  I  was  interested,  as  any  young 
woman  would  be;  but  I  knew  that  I  did  not  then 
love  you,  and  would  not  permit  myself  to  think  that 
I  did." 

Monday  morning  brought  a  telegram  from  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Guy,  stating  that  they  would  arrive  about 
10.30  A.  M.,  so  Ralph  went  directly  to  the  Grand 
Central  Station  to  meet  them,  and  arrived  at  home 
with  them  at  early  lunch  hour. 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GUY'S  VISIT.        1159 

When  he  presented  his  parents  to  Mona,  his 
mother  took  her  in  her  arms  and  kissed  her  fore 
head,  and  then  held  her  off  by  the  shoulders  and 
again  drew  her  to  her  and  kissed  her,  saying,  "My 
dear,  I  don't  think  you  have  been  out  of  my  mind  a 
single  minute  since  Ralph  wrote  me  that  he  and  you 
talked  of  taking  up  with  each  other,  so  that  you 
might  learn  to  love  him." 

"Not  learn  to  love  him,  Mrs.  Guy,  but  to  learn 
whether  I  love  him." 

Mona  took  Mrs.  Guy  into  her  own  room,  where 
combs  and  brushes  were  produced,  so  that  she 
could  tidy  up  before  luncheon.  While  the  elder 
woman  was  smoothing  herself  out,  Mona  seated  her 
self  in  the  window  and  took  a  female  inventory  of 
her. 

A  blonde  of  about  fifty  years,  of  good  propor 
tions,  good  complexion,  with  a  waist  line  of  good 
dimensions;  full  round  form  and  comely  face,  and 
hair  quite  gray  and  scant.  Evidently  a  handsome 
woman  twenty  years  ago;  good  teeth  and  blue 
eyes,  which  gave  her  the  appearance  of  a  happy, 
matronly  woman,  in  good  circumstances,  and  not 
a  woman  inured  to  farm  life. 

The  lunch  gong  called  them  to  the  dining-room, 
where  they  partook  of  a  substantial  meal. 


160   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

After  the  meal  the  two  men  went  down  to  Ralph's 
office.  Mona  was  delighted  when  her  mother  called 
in  about  three,  and  the  two  elderly  women  met  and 
chatted  pleasantly.  Mrs.  Guy  seemed  to  take  de 
light  in  gazing  at  Mona,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  ex 
press  her  satisfaction  to  her,  saying:  "Dear,  I  just 
feel  as  if  you  were  already  my  daughter.  I  never 
had  any  girls  born  to  me,  and  Ralph  has  been  at 
home  so  little  since  he  was  sixteen  years  old  that 
my  home-life  has  been  rather  lonely.  Mr.  Guy 
spends  much  of  his  time  with  his  stock,  and  when 
he  is  at  home  evenings  he  sleeps  and  we  go  to  bed 
early." 

In  the  evening  Mr.  Davidge  called  with  his  wife, 
and  the  three  men  soon  warmed  to  each  other  on 
the  subjects  of  the  day.  All  Republicans,  their 
opinions  could  not  vary  materially.  Mr.  Guy,  a 
man  of  sixty-five  and  a  veteran  of  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  was  very  decided  on  the  subject  of  the 
party  suffering  from  too  much  Federal  activities, 
as  he  called  it. 

Mr.  Davidge,  the  conservative  lawyer,  who  was 
evidently  an  admirer  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  said: 
"Roosevelt  has  rendered  the  country  great  service 
and  is  stable  and  sound  on  all  the  great  questions  of 
the  day.  He  has  stepped  in  the  breach  in  critical 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GUY'S  VISIT.         161 

periods,  and  saved  us  from  serious  conditions.  His 
intercession  between  Russia  and  Japan  was  a  world 
benefit,  and  his  name  will  be  inseparably  associated 
in  history  with  that  great  patriotic  deed." 

"I  would  not  rob  our  President  of  one  leaf  of 
his  laurel  wreath.  You  must  not  forget,  though 
that  there  was  no  time  after  the  Japanese  army 
had  laid  siege  to  Port  Arthur,  and  another  force 
of  their  successful  army  was  driving  the  Russians 
back  towards  Harben,  that  the  Russians  would  not 
have  been  glad  to  have  had  some  truly  neutral  na 
tion  propose  an  armistice.  While  the  Japanese  were 
winning  victory  after  victory,  it  was  at  a  great  cost 
of  men  and  treasure,  and  when  President  Roose 
velt  made  friendly  interference,  they  were  like  two 
men  exhausted  from  a  hard  struggle,  each  ready 
and  anxious  to  quit  if  they  could  only  find  a  pre 
text  ;  and  Roosevelt  furnished  the  pretext.  No  other 
nation  could  make  friendly  overtures,  because  no 
other  was  truly  disinterested,  as  was  America.  So 
I  do  not  attach  to  much  importance  to  that  act,"  said 
Mr.  Guy,  Sr. 

"Nevertheless,  Roosevelt  will  get  the  credit  in 
history  of  a  great  act  of  statesmanship,"  said  Mr. 
Davidge. 

"That  may  be  so,  just  as  the  George  Washington 


162   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

story  of  the  hatchet  and  the  cherry  tree,  of  the 
early  school  book,  and  that  old  and  ridiculous  story, 
illustrated,  by  which  my  young  mind  was  impressed, 
of  General  Ethan  Allen,  of  the  Revolution,  wherein 
he  was  pictured  as  knocking  at  the  door  of  a  fort, 
really  nothing  more  than  a  block  house,  and  de 
manding  its  surrender  'in  the  name  of  the  Great 
Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress.'  All  these 
things  are  in  history,  too." 

"Nevertheless,"  said  Mr.  Davidge,  "Roosevelt  will 
take  a  place  in  history  by  the  side  of  Washington 
and  Lincoln." 

"Quite  true,"  said  Ralph.  "He  has  blazed  his 
way  with  strenuosity,  and  stands  a  unique  figure  in 
the  Hall  of  Fame." 

"I  would  say  that  Roosevelt  is  the  antithesis  of 
Lincoln;  Lincoln,  the  gentle,  kind,  and  loving  man 
even  at  a  time  when  he  was  harrowed  hourly  by 
antagonistic  factions,  disputing  with  and  abusing 
him,  was  always  found  to  be  good-natured  and  kind, 
even  magnanimous  toward  his  enemies.  His  admin 
istration  was  always  a  troublous  one,  and  one  so 
different  from  the  one  of  peace  and  quiet  of  the 
present  time.  I  would  say  that  the  comparison  is 
unjust  to  Lincoln,"  said  Mr.  Guy.  "Washington, 
in  all  his  grand  career,  showed  himself  greatest  as 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GUY'S  VISIT.        163 

a  General.  His  nature  had  a  vein  of  narrowness 
in  it  that  manifested  itself  in  his  statesmanship." 

"I  am  forced  to  plead  ignorance,"  said  Mr. 
Davidge,  "of  anything  in  Washington's  career  war 
ranting  such  a  criticism." 

"As  a  General,"  said  Mr.  Guy,  "he  acknowledged 
the  great  work  of  Tom  Paine  in  the  fight  for  In 
dependence.  The  question  of  separation  from  the 
mother  country  took  hold  of  the  minds  of  the  Col 
onists  very  slowly.  They  were  like  children  on  the 
first  ice  of  winter,  and  no  person  did  more  than 
Tom  Paine  did,  by  his  pamphlet  'The  Crisis,'  to 
create  a  sentiment  for  separation.  In  one  of  Wash 
ington's  letters  written  to  Joseph  Reed,  January 
3ist,  1/76,  he  said:  'A  few  more  such  flaming  ar 
guments  as  were  exhibited  at  Falmouth  and  Nor 
folk,  added  to  the  sound  doctrine  and  unanswerable 
reasoning  contained  in  the  pamphlet  "Common 
Sense,"  will  not  leave  numbers  at  a  loss  to  decide  on 
the  propriety  of  a  separation.'  It  was  evident  that 
he,  as  Commander-in-Chief,  attached  as  much 
weight  to  the  argument  contained  in  'Common  Sense,' 
written  by  Paine,  in  an  appeal  to  the  people  to  de 
clare  for  separation  from  King  George's  Kingdom, 
as  he  did  to  two  victories  of  the  Continental  Army." 

"It  is  many  years  since  I  read  'Common  Sense,' 


164   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

but  I  remember  it  as  a  masterpiece  of  logic  and  wis 
dom  masterfully  put.  But  to  what  do  you  refer 
in  the  life  of  Washington's  administration  which  in 
dicates  that  his  nature  had  a  vein  of  narrowness  in 
it?" 

"I  refer  to  the  fact  that  he  permitted  the  author 
of  'Common  Sense'  to  languish  in  a  French  prison 
for  eleven  months  without  expressing  a  wish  for 
his  liberation,  and  this  at  a  time  when  Robespierre 
was  in  power  and  was  beheading  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  people  daily.  That  the  mere  request  of 
Washington  as  President  would  have  effected 
Paine's  release  was  evident  from  the  reply  of  the 
French  Convention  made  to  the  American  residents 
of  Paris,  who  made  a  demand  for  Paine's  release, 
which  reply  was :  'That  it  could  not  be  listened  to 
in  consequence  of  its  not  being  authorized  by  the 
American  Government,'  although  the  American 
Minister — Mr.  Monroe — was  using  all  his  personal 
influence  to  bring  about  his  release.  Paine  was  a 
soldier  all  through  the  Revolution,  and  yet  Wash 
ington  would  not  request  his  release." 

"The  probabilities  are,"  said  Mr.  Davidge,  "that 
Washington  was  influenced  by  the  ultra-churchmen 
against  Paine  because  of  his  infidelity,  a  charge 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GUY'S  VISIT.         165 

brought  against  him  after  his  publication  of  the  'Age 
of  Reason.' ' 

"He  had  not  then  published  the  'Age  of  Reason,' ' 
said  Mr.  Guy.  "The  first  part  of  that  work  was 
written  and  finished  just  six  hours  before  his  ar 
rest,  which  he  was  then  hourly  expecting.  On  his 
way  to  prison  he  carried  his  manuscript  to  his 
friend  Joel  Barlow,  and  left  it  with  him  for  safe 
keeping,  feeling,  as  he  said,  that  the  fate  of  his 
MSS.,  as  well  as  that  of  its  author,  was  very  doubt 
ful  in  the  prison  to  which  he  was  going." 

"Wasn't  Tom  Paine  an  atheist?"  asked  Ralph. 

"By  no  means,  my  son.  Have  you  never  read  his 
great  work,  'The  Age  of  Reason'?  If  not,  buy  a 
copy  and  read  it  before  you  are  a  month  older. 
You  will  find  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  work, 
where  he  says :  'I  believe  in  one  God,  and  no  more ; 
and  I  hope  for  happiness  beyond  this  life.'  That 
does  not  leave  any  room  for  doubt  that  he  was  not 
an  atheist." 

"Why,  then,  are  the  Church  and  all  its  ministry 
so  down  on  him?"  asked  Ralph. 

"Because  of  his  authorship  of  the  'Age  of  Rea 
son.'     He  starts  off  with  the  declaration  that  he 
does  not  believe  in  the  creed  professed  by  the  Jewish 
Roman,  Greek,  or  Presbyterian  Churches,  but  that 


1 66   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

his  own  mind  is  his  own  church.  That  is  why  they 
are  all  down  on  him  and  his  writings.  No  reason 
ing  person  can  read  that  work  carefully  without  ac 
cepting  it  as  truthful,  honest  and  just.  Church  doc 
trinaires  cannot  meet  it  intelligently  and  refute  it  ra 
tionally,  hence  they  abuse  and  revile  its  author." 

"Did  you  ever  hear  any  explanation  respecting  the 
action  of  President  Washington?"  asked  Mr. 
Davidge. 

"No,  I  never  did,  and  the  only  solution  of  it  that 
I  can  figure  out,  which  is  reasonable,  is  that  Wash 
ington  was  a  High  Churchman,  and  so  were  all  the 
Tories  of  that  time.  Every  Royalist  was  filled  with 
a  venomous  hatred  of  Paine  because  he  had  written 
a  work  addressed  to  the  subjects  of  King  George, 
entitled  *The  Rights  of  Man,'  and  his  lectures  to 
King  George  and  his  Generals  in  his  pamphlet  'Com 
mon  Sense,'  and  I  believe  that  the  influence  which 
those  ultra-churchmen  exerted  with  Washington  was 
the  real  cause  of  his  neglecting  Paine  and  leaving 
him  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Robespierre,  in  the 
hope  that  he  would  be  guillotined.  Besides,  Wash 
ington  was  an  aristocrat,  as  were  all  the  Tories, 
hence  their  influence." 

"I  now  recall  the  articles  that,  when  published, 
were  signed  'Common  Sense,'  "  said  Mr.  Davidge. 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GUY'S  VISIT.         167 

"They  were  a  power  in  creating  and  crystalizing  the 
sentiment  for  separation  from  the  mother  country, 
Paine  was  a  very  charitable  and  generous  man.  As 
an  author,  he  was  very  versatile  and  positively 
unique  in  that  he  never  wrote  for  money. 

"There  is  little  doubt  that  Paine  had  an  important 
and  leading  part  in  drawing  up  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  There  is  a  simplicity  and  forceful- 
ness  which  marks  all  of  Paine's  writings.  Thomas 
Jefferson  was  a  warm  admirer  and  close  friend  of 
Paine.  Paine  was  a  true  patriot.  His  love  for  his 
fellow  man  and  his  belief  in  the  ability  of  man 
to  govern  himself  marked  him  as  a  patriot.  He 
hated  hereditary  monarchy  from  principle." 

Mrs.  Davidge  indicated  her  desire  to  go  home, 
and  they  left  the  circle. 

The  father  and  son  took  a  stroll  on  the  street, 
and  left  Mrs.  Guy  with  Mona,  who  commenced  to 
leisurely  cut  the  leaves  of  a  magazine.  Mrs.  Guy 
gazed  thoughtfully  at  Mona  for  a  few  minutes  in 
silence,  and  then  said:  "I  guess  you  have  noticed 
quite  a  resemblance  between  Ralph  and  his  father, 
haven't  you,  Mona?" 

"Yes,  both  in  color  of  eyes  and  dimpled  chin. 
They  are  also  somewhat  alike  in  disposition,  I  should 
judge,"  said  Mona. 


i68   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"They  are  as  much  alike  as  two  peas  in  a  pod. 
When  I  first  married  Mr.  Guy,  I  thought,  and  others 
thought,  I  was  a  bright  girl.  He  was  nearly  fif 
teen  years  my  senior,  and  I  thought  him  quite  a 
bright  man,  always  having  an  opinion,  and  an  argu 
ment  to  sustain  it.  But  laws  me !  I  never  seemed  to 
have  the  right  side  of  any  question.  If  I  thought 
a  book  was  interesting,  it  was  simply  trash  from  his 
point  of  view,  until  I  got  vanquished  and  had  no 
opinion  that  I  felt  safe  to  express.  Still,  he  was 
always  a  good  provider,  and  kind." 

When  the  two  Guys  were  walking,  Ralph  asked 
his  father  how  he  liked  the  Davidges. 

"The  old  man  is  conservative,  and  as  dry  as  a 
stick.  I  guess  he  is  a  bright  lawyer,  and  gets  fat 
fees,  don't  he?" 

"He  stands  well  as  a  lawyer,  and  is  the  head  of 
an  important  firm.  Mona  is  not  their  own  daugh 
ter.  Her  father  was  the  brother  of  the  man  you 
met.  He  left  his  wife  when  Mona  was  an  infant, 
in  a  fit  of  temper,  and  has  never  been  heard  from 
since." 

"Well,  that  girl  has  her  own  opinions,  or  I  miss 
my  guess.  She  may  be  amiable,  and  all  that,  but 
she  can  think  for  herself.  How  did  you  come  to 
submit  to  this,  what  do  you  call  it,  trial  marriage, 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GUY'S  VISIT.         169 

I  suppose?  It's  all  tommy  rot,  and  I  would  not 
submit  to  it.  Don't  you  sleep  together?" 

"No,  it  was  stipulated  in  the  contract  that  she 
should  be  mistress  of  her  own  person  and  have  her 
own  apartment,  and  I  have  respected  her  wishes. 
I  think  a  great  deal  of  her.  She  is  a  bright  and 
intelligent  girl,  and  knows  her  own  mind,  and  can 
express  herself  both  intelligently  and  well." 

"Have  you  to  keep  this  up  for  six  months?" 

"That  is  the  understanding,  unless  she  elects  to 
sever  the  relations  earlier.  Of  course,  I  could  not 
move  to  terminate  the  matter  sooner,  and  be  con 
sidered  a  gentleman.  I  have  ambitions  to  be  taken 
into  the  law  firm  with  Mr.  Davidge.  It  would  be 
a  very  desirable  thing  in  a  business  way." 

Both  men  were  silent  after  this  until  they  were 
within  the  house. 

Mona  busied  herself  in  arranging  the  bed  for  the 
elder  couple  and  seeing  that  everything  was  pre 
pared  for  their  comfort,  when  she  said  to  Ralph 
that  it  was  perhaps  the  hour  for  his  parents  to  re 
tire,  bade  them  good-night,  when  Ralph  advanced 
to  her  side,  placed  his  arm  tenderly  about  her,  and 
kissed  her  good-night,  as  did  Mrs.  Guy  also. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

There  were  gathered  in  Dr.  Morrison's  parlor  a 
number  of  ladies,  in  calling  attire,  who,  while  sip 
ping  their  tea,  discussed  fashions  and  wearers  of 
fashionable  clothes,  criticizing  tastes  that  were  hor 
rid  and  picking  them  clean,  generally,  when  Miss 
Stuart,  who  was  of  the  party,  asked  Mrs.  Morrison 
when  she  had  seen  Mona. 

"The  Doctor  and  I  were  over  there  Tuesday  even 
ing."  Then,  turning  to  one  of  her  guests,  who 
was  from  out  of  town,  said,  "That  is  the  young 
lady  of  whom  Mr.  Morrison  spoke  to  you.  She  is 
a  lovely  girl,  and  we  both  think  very  much  of  her. 
She  is  living  with  her  fiance  during  their  court 
ship." 

"Living  with  a  man  before  they  are  married?" 
asked  an  aged  spinster  who  was  present.  "Why, 
that  is  simply  awful.  And  does  Dr.  Morrison  coun 
tenance  such  a  thing?" 

170 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        171 

"Dr.  Morrison  is  one  of  her  strongest  supporters 
in  her  ethics,"  said  Mrs.  Morrison.  "It  may  seem 
awful  in  the  abstract,  but  to  those  who  know  Miss 
Davidge  there  is  nothing  but  praise  for  her.  She 
is  a  lovely  character,  pure  in  mind  and  a  well-bal 
anced  young  woman.  She  can  take  care  of  herself. 
Her  parents  live  not  far  distant  from  her  flat,  and 
it  is  with  their  consent.  Her  father,  who  is  a  great 
lawyer,  drew  up  the  papers  for  them  to  sign,  and 
they  both  signed  them.  It  provides  for  their  living 
together  for  six  months  unless  one  of  them  chooses 
to  terminate  it  sooner." 

"But  does  not  some  person  live  with  them  as 
chaperone?"  asked  the  aged  spinster. 

"No;  of  course,  they  have  an  aged  servant,  se 
lected  by  her  mother,  from  up  the  country.  The 
gentleman's  name  is  Guy,  and  his  mother  and 
father,  from  Orange  County,  are  now  visiting 
them." 

"Well,  I,  for  one,  think  it  is  perfectly  awful," 
said  the  spinster. 

"And  I,  for  one,  think  it  is  a  very  sensible  thing 
to  do,"  said  Mrs.  Douglas.  "She  will,  if  she  is 
shrewd,  soon  learn  whether  her  fiance  is  in  love 
with  her  or  with  her  financial  prospect  only.  Men 
may  be  smart  enough  to  play  the  devoted  lover  for 


1 72   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

a  time,  as  courting  is  done  generally;  but  let  a 
shrewd  girl  live  with  him  for  a  while,  and  she  will 
learn  what  his  real  disposition  is,  and  whether  she 
wants  to  live  with  him  the  rest  of  her  life;  that  is, 
if  Miss  Davidge's  test  is  put  to  them.  Before  mar 
riage,  a  lover  listens  sweetly  to  every  word  his  lady 
love  utters,  and  shortly  after  marriage  she  has  not 
an  opinion  for  which  he  cares  a  rap.  When  that 
stage  is  reached,  love  is  always  found  descending, 
and  never  rises  again.  The  man  then  cares  only  for 
his  evening  paper,  and  then  to  bed  and  sleep." 

"Mr.  Guy  seems  very  devoted  to  Mona,  but  he 
never  struck  me  as  a  man  of  much  refinement," 
said  Miss  Stuart,  "while  Miss  Mona  is  a  very 
refined  girl." 

"I  have  not  thought  Mr.  Guy  as  refined  as  Mona," 
said  Mrs.  Morrison. 

"Then  they  should  never  wed,"  said  Mrs.  Douglas 
with  much  emphasis. 

"They  should  be  equally  refined  or  both  coarse,  if 
they  marry.  If  you  notice,  it  is  the  coarsest  nature 
that  make  the  loudest  pretence  to  refinement.  Re 
finement,  innate  refinement,  is  at  all  times  manifest, 
and  needs  neither  pretence  nor  declaration.  Coarse 
ness  never  yields  and  takes  on  refinement.  That 
is  not  in  nature.  The  naturally  coarse  nature  can- 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        173 

not  long  hide  itself;  therefore  I  endorse  Miss 
Davidge's  ethics  providing  for  a  period  of  study  of 
each  other,  not  only  of  the  nature  and  char 
acteristics  of  each,  but  whether  the  professed  love 
is  real.  As  I  just  said,  inherent  coarseness  cannot 
long  be  hidden  or  suppressed.  It  will  be  manifest 
in  eating,  for  the  appetite  is  a  great  developer  of 
the  inner  man,  and  woman,  too,  for  that  matter. 
While  the  first  glamour  of  love  is  fresh  and  buoyant, 
it  is  forgiving  and  ready  to  overlook  seeming  lapses 
of  faith  that  would  become  appalling  to  a  sensi 
tive  nature  later  on,  when  love  has  somewhat  abated 
of  its  intensity  and  the  gross  nature  is  off  its  guard." 

"Well,  really,  Mrs.  Morrison,  this  Miss  Davidge, 
what  does  her  effort  amount  to  ?  Would  she  expect 
to  go  on  in  this  way,  living  with  other  men  if  this 
one  does  not  suit  her?" 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Ellis,  don't  speak  in  that  way  of  our 
Miss  Davidge.  We  all  bid  her  God-speed  in  her 
departure  from  the  conventional  and  deceptive  man 
ner  of  courtship.  She  is  a  pure  girl,  with  a  charac 
ter  that  will  emerge  from  this  ordeal  untarnished. 
We,  who  know  her,  believe  in  her  fully,  and  know 
that  her  motives,  like  her  life,  are  pure.  The  Doc 
tor  visits  her,  and  believes  in  her  fully,  and  he  has 
her  confidence.  He  admires  her  very  much." 


174   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  it  amounts  to,  Mrs.  Ellis," 
said  Mrs.  Douglas,  "for  I  have  talked  with  this 
pure-minded  girl,  and  I  know,  too,  from  Mrs. 
Davidge  what  unfortunate  circumstance  suggested 
the  course  to  her  daughter.  Courtship  is  a  decep 
tion  almost  always,  on  the  part  of  lovers.  The  man 
calls  once  or  twice  a  week  on  his  lady-love.  She 
knows  that  he  is  coming,  and  primps  and  curls  and 
perfumes  herself  up,  so  that  he,  being  in  love,  or 
thinking  he  is,  looks  upon  her,  when  absent  from 
her,  as  a  dainty,  delicate,  sweet-looking  and  sweet- 
smelling  little  fairy,  who  is  as  near  perfection  as 
the  angels  are.  Now,  we  women  know  that  she  is 
deceiving  him.  Her  complexion  is  false,  her  hair 
is  false,  and  perhaps  her  bosom  and  hips  are  false, 
and  her  waist,  that  is  so  small  and  neat,  is  a  torture 
to  her  all  evening,  because  of  tight-lacing.  As 
women,  we  all  know  that  from  our  own  experience. 
Her  lover  goes  away  fairly  intoxicated  with  his 
little  princess,  and  dreams  of  her  just  as  he  has 
seen  her  always. 

"There  is  something  else  that  we  know,  as  women, 
and  the  man  does  not  learn  until  after  he  is  married 
— caught  in  the  trap  that  is  deliberately  set  for  him. 
Let  us  suppose,  now,  that  this  young  man  was  to 
appear  at  the  back  door  of  her  father's  house  at  the 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        175 

hour  that  the  marketing  is  due  there,  and  see  her 
with  her  tousled  and  uncombed  hair,  her  torn  and 
perhaps  badly  soiled  wrapper;  in  a  word,  her  un 
adorned  and  natural  self.  Do  you  think  his  dream 
would  be  spoiled,  the  illusion  dispelled?  Yes,  and 
perhaps  his  love  would  be  so  rudely  shaken  that  he 
would  never  call  again.  You  know,  and  we  all  do, 
that  this  picture  is  not  much  over-drawn,  taking  the 
average  girl." 

"Well,  but " 

"Hold  on  a  minute,"  said  Mrs.  Douglas;  "I  am 
not  through  yet.  Suppose  that  he  never  sees  his 
dainty  Miss  as  her  natural  self,  and  he  marries  her, 
ignorant  of  the  real  self.  It  is  then  bound  to  come 
out,  for  she  has  secured  him,  and  her  need  for  de 
ception  has  ceased.  What  is  the  result?  He  not 
only  finds  that  this  dainty  girl  that  he  worshipped 
is  a  sloven,  but  he  may  find  that  his  angel  has  a 
temper,  and  that  he  has  married  a  vixen  with  a  dis 
position  that  is  harrowing  and  unendurable.  He 
sees  that  he  had  been  deceived  and  trapped.  What 
is  the  result?  He  grows  indifferent,  and  indiffer 
ence  leads  to  neglect,  which  leads  to  crimination  and 
recrimination,  and  their  grievances  are  finally  aired 
in  the  Divorce  Court.  There  are  more  divorces 
brought  about  by  this  deception  during  courtship 


j;6   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

than  by  any  other  one  thing.  The  result  is  far- 
reaching.  The  man  has  early  seen  that  he  did  not 
love  the  woman  that  he  married,  but  that  it  was 
the  woman's  trappery  that  he  loved,  which  was  the 
gilded  bait  that  caught  him. 

"If  Miss  Davidge,  by  her  new  ethics,  correctly 
called  'The  Science  of  Selection,'  can  succeed  in  re 
forming  woman  so  that  she  will  lead  her  true  life 
for  five  or  six  months  with  the  man  of  her  choice 
while  she  is  studying  him  and  reading  her  own 
heart  correctly,  she  will  have  done  humanity  a  ser 
vice  of  incalcuable  value,  and  perhaps  will  have 
proved  that  marriage  is  not  the  failure  that  it  is 
accused  of  being,  and  has  greatly  reduced  the  annual 
number  of  divorces.  Until  woman  has  in  her  mind 
more  than  the  single  object  of  getting  an  available 
man  for  a  husband,  she  will  not  reform.  She  must 
build  within  her  a  character  that  will  stand  the  test 
of  scrutiny  before  as  well  as  after  marriage;  in  a 
word,  a  character  that  will  wear.  Man  is  looking 
for  more  than  a  pretty  face  and  dainty  ways  in  a 
wife." 

"But  how  about  the  deceit  of  the  men?  We  never 
know  them  until  after  we  have  married  them,"  said 
Mrs.  Ellis. 

"Don't  you  think,"  asked  Mrs.  Douglas,  "that 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        177 

in  less  than  six  months  you  could  know  the  inner 
most  thought  of  any  man  if  you  lived  with  and 
studied  him.  I  firmly  believe  that  Miss  Davidge  has 
struck  the  very  key-note  of  the  true  mating  of  the 
sexes,  and  by  it,  wherever  adopted,  will  have  reduced 
divorces  to  the  minimum." 

"What  kind  of  a  woman  is  Miss  Davidge?"  asked 
Mrs.  Ellis. 

"Firstly,"  answered  Mrs.  Morrison,  as  "Mr.  Mor 
rison  says  in  his  sermon,  she  is  a  woman  of  charac 
ter,  modest  and  unassuming,  above  the  average  in 
intelligence,  with  a  handsome  face  and  a  good  form 
— without  furbelows  or  pads.  That  which  struck  me 
more  forcibly  than  anything  else  is  that  she  does  not 
realize  that  she  is  doing  anything  extraordinary  in 
this  matter.  She  is  so  natural  with  it  all." 

"Was  her  mother  willing  that  she  should  go  to 
live  with  this  man?"  asked  Mrs.  Ellis. 

"Perfectly;  and  so  was  her  father.  They  know 
all  about  Mr.  Guy.  They  had  his  character  inves 
tigated  before  Mona  consented  to  have  herself  en 
gaged  to  him.  They  have  all  confidence  in  Mona, 
and  know  that  she  is  equal  to  the  undertaking,  and 
will  acquiesce  in  her  decision  without  questioning 
it,  whatever  it  may  be.  Her  mother  first  stipulated 
that  she  was  to  see  Mona  at  least  once  each  day. 


178   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

They  have  telephones,  and  are  talking  to  each  other 
many  times  a  day." 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Ellis,  "I  don't  think  I  would 
like  to  risk  it  with  my  daughter,  unless  I  were  there 
with  her." 

"Of  course,  you  know  your  own  daughter,"  said 
Mrs.  Douglas;  "Mrs.  Davidge  knew  her  daughter. 
A  woman  with  a  character  formed  of  the  right  stuff 
need  have  no  fears,  and  that  is  the  kind  of  girl 
Mona  is.  If  your  daughter  is  the  kind  that  you 
have  to  sit  up  with  all  the  time  she  is  being  sparked, 
I  would  not  trust  her,  either.  Mona  is  only  nine 
teen  years  old,  and  she  is  a  very  sensible  and  alto 
gether  lovely  girl.  I  would  be  proud  to  have  her 
for  my  daughter.  The  most  beautiful  thing  that 
has  struck  me  in  her  character  is  her  utter  indif 
ference  to  praise.  She  knows  she  is  right,  and  that 
her  parents  endorse  her,  and  she  is  indifferent  to 
all  else." 

"Do  they  love  each  other?"  asked  Mrs.  Ellis. 

"That  is  the  point,"  said  Mrs.  Morrison.  "Mr. 
Guy  made  ardent  love  to  Mona,  and  wanted  her  to 
marry  him.  Mona  really  thought  she  did  love  him, 
but  she  did  not  intend  to  be  deceived  by  her  feel 
ings  nor  by  Mr.  Guy's  professions,  hence  this  six 
months'  test  is  to  satisfy  her  both  on  her  love  and 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        179 

on  Mr.  Guy's  professions.  We  all  know  that  the 
symptoms  affecting  us  in  relation  to  the  opposite  sex 
are  oftentimes  misleading.  To  a  tender-hearted 
woman,  sympathy  moves  her  so  that  she  thinks  she 
is  in  love.  An  accident  and  a  rescue  engender  a 
feeling  that  she  is  deceiving.  Gratitude  has  deceived 
many  a  girl  into  a  semblance  of  love  that  was  soon 
dissipated.  While  Mona  felt  all  the  symptoms  of 
love,  in  so  far  as  she  knew  them,  she  feared  that 
her  feelings  might  be  deceptive,  and  she  resolved  to 
put  them  to  a  test.  Her  course,  I  think,  is  a  very 
wise  one,  and  I  wish  her  success,  as  do  all  her 
friends." 

"I  am  convinced  that  Mr.  Richter  is  very  much 
in  love  with  Mona,"  said  Miss  Stuart.  "She  seems 
to  be  the  only  person  that  does  not  know  it.  Why, 
he  never  takes  his  eyes  off  her  when  she  is  talking, 
and  he  won't  say  a  word  at  that  time." 

"Mr.  Richter,"  said  Mrs.  Morrison,  turning  to 
Mrs.  Ellis,  "was  a  Socialist  lecturer  or  preacher.  I 
suspect  you  have  heard  them  speaking  at  the  cor 
ner  of  Twenty-seventh  and  Broadway,  where  they 
deliver  their  lectures  on  Socialism.  Mr.  Guy  and 
Mona  stopped  there  one  evening,  when  Mr.  Richter 
was  speaking,  and  Mona  questioned  Mr.  Guy  about 
what  the  doctrine  was.  Mr.  Guy  told  his  friend 


i8o      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

the  lecturer  about  his  fiancee,  and  invited  him  to  call, 
and  when  Mona  knew  that  he  was  coming  to  call, 
she  spent  that  whole  day  in  the  library  reading  up 
on  Socialism,  so  that  when  Mr.  Richter  called,  the 
subject  being  new  to  her,  she  commenced  asking 
questions  and  giving  her  opinions  on  the  subject,  so 
that  Mr.  Richter  began  to  think  of  his  responsibili 
ties  and  what  his  teaching  was  liable  to  lead  to  in 
the  spreading  of  anarchy,  and  he  abandoned  the 
Socialists'  cause  altogether." 

"This  is  truly  wonderful,"  said  Mrs.  Ellis,  "and 
I  should  like  to  meet  and  know  this  young  woman. 
I  shouldn't  like  my  daughter  to  come  under  her  in 
fluence,  though,  for  I  couldn't  think  of  my  daughter 
living  in  the  same  house  alone  with  any  man." 

"You  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  Mrs.  Ellis,"  said  Mrs. 
Douglas,  "that  enough  of  the  man's  character  should 
first  be  known  to  convince  you  that  he  is  not  an  out 
right  brute.  If  he,  this  Mr.  Guy,  had  brutal  in 
stincts,  Mona  would  have  discovered  it  and  the 
father  would  have  found  it  out  through  his  investi 
gation  and  would  have  advised  against  their  living 
together,  and  that  would  have  been  the  end  of  it 
then  and  there." 

"But  how  can  one  find  out  that  a  man  is  not  of 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        181 

brutal  instincts,"  asked  Mrs,  Ellis,  "when  he  comes 
a-wooing?" 

"Brutality  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
average  man,  and  Miss  Mona  has  entered  upon  the 
only  intelligent  test,  and  which  you  have  just  ad 
mitted  that  you  would  not  permit  your  daughter  to 
do.  A  brutal  man  cannot  long  hide  his  brutality. 
His  manners  are  never  gentle.  He  is  arrogant  and 
assertive  in  manner.  An  arrogant  man  is  insolent 
when  in  power.  I  visited  an  institution  in  our  har 
bor  recently,  and  met  a  man  high  in  authority  there, 
having  been  introduced  by  my  gentleman  escort, 
and  while  we  were  being  shown  around  by  him  he 
met  one  of  his  subordinates  who  had  some  urgent 
business  with  him  for  the  moment,  and  in  dealing 
with  him,  in  our  presence,  his  whole  demeanor 
changed  to  that  of  a  brow-beater.  There  did  not 
seem  to  be  any  occasion  for  the  overbearing  manner 
with  which  he  treated  the  subordinate,  and,  perhaps, 
if  we  had  not  been  present  he  would  not  have  been 
so  aggressive.  Why,  it  was  disgusting  to  witness, 
and  we  felt  sorrow  for  the  man,  who  seemed  sur 
prised  and  much  humiliated  at  the  onslaught.  Now, 
there  was  a  man  with  whom  no  woman  would  seem 
safe,  if  he  were  in  a  position  to  carry  out  any  brutal 
instincts  that  might  animate  him." 


1 82      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"I  see  that  the  Ainsworths  are  back  in  town,  for 
Mrs.  Ains worth  was  at  church  on  Sunday,"  said 
Miss  Stuart. 

"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Morrison.  "They  have  returned 
to  the  city.  They  live  up  on  Ninety-eighth  Street,  in 
a  flat  that  is  not  up  to  the  style  that  they  have  been 
living  in  heretofore.  They  have  been  living  in 
Philadelphia  and  Boston  since  they  left  New  York. 
I  fear  that  the  Colonel  has  met  reverses  in  the  past 
year." 

"A  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss,"  said  one  of 
the  ladies. 

"A  rolling  stone  gets  a  polish,"  said  Mrs.  Douglas. 
"I  met  the  Colonel  on  the  Sixth  Avenue  'L'  a  few 
days  ago.  It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  meet  him,  for 
he  is  always  a  gentleman.  There  would  never  be 
any  arrogance  in  his  treatment  of  the  lowest  subor 
dinate  in  his  employ.  He  couldn't  cringe  to  a  su 
perior,  as  arrogant  people  are  sure  to  do,  and  brow 
beat  their  subordinates.  He  would  treat  them  all 
alike,  because  nature  made  the  Colonel  a  gentleman." 

"Gentlemanly  manners  are  mostly  the  study  of 
the  men,"  said  the  aged  spinster. 

"Habit  of  thought  of  his  imaginary  greatness," 
said  Mrs.  Douglas,  "cultivates  an  austere  impression 
but  is  false  to  the  weak  nature  that  wears  it.  It 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        183 

always  discloses  a  small  nature  and  a  smaller  mind, 
and  is  met  mostly  in  men  who  are  clothed  with  a 
little  brief  authority.  It  is  an  assumption  of  great 
ness  and  reflects  its  own  mediocrity.  Habit,  begun 
in  youth,  crooks  the  mind  and  body  in  manhood, 
and  it  grows  faster  and  deeper  in  the  ratio  of  the 
lack  of  resisting  power  of  the  nature  upon  which  it 
is  fastening.  Habit  never  made  a  gentleman  of 
Colonel  Ainsworth's  stamp.  Nature  made  him  a 
gentleman,  not  cultivation." 

"I  could  not  endure  a  homely  or  awkward  man," 
said  Mrs.  Ellis.  "Some  of  the  young  men  up 
country  are  so  clumsy  and  awkward  that  I  sometimes 
felt  sorry  for  them.  Their  big  hands  and  feet 
seemed  always  in  their  way." 

"Some  of  our  greatest  men,"  said  Mrs.  Douglas, 
"were,  in  their  youth,  veritable  clod-hoppers,  but 
contact  with  the  world  wore  away  the  boorishness 
and  smoothed  them  out  and  they  evolved  into  what 
we,  in  our  present  pursuit  after  sestheticism,  call  the 
Gentleman.  They  are  none  the  better  for  it,  but 
they  size  up  much  better  from  a  society  point  of 
view  for  frivolous  woman. 

"We  are  too  much  inclined  to  seek  after  the 
trivial  features  of  life  known  as  society  polish  and 
overlook  the  more  substantial  qualities  in  man- 


i84      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

hood.  We  would  not  appreciate  the  possible  capa 
bilities  in  the  rough  and  uncouth  youth  who  has 
spent  his  time  in  acquiring  substantial  knowledge 
instead  of  society  manners.  Neither  would  we, 
if  on  the  ocean's  pebbly  beach,  in  search  of  the 
translucent  agate,  appreciate  the  diamond  in  the 
rough,  because  of  its  lack  of  lustre,  and  would,  in 
our  ignorance,  more  than  likely  spurn  it  with  our 
boot.  So  we  select  our  husbands  and  the  men  select 
their  wives  the  same  way,  yielding  to  the  dictates 
of  vanity,  and  are  seldom  influenced  by  common- 
sense.  The  quality  of  a  housekeeper  in  their  choos 
ing  a  wife,  gives  way  to  preference  for  a  beautiful 
exterior,  which,  in  all  likelihood,  hides  vanity, 
deceit  and  selfishness. 

"We  are  recently  doing  a  tardy  honor  to  those 
great  path-finders  and  pioneers  of  Western  civiliza 
tion,  who  took  their  lives  in  their  hands  and  went 
into  the  wilderness  and  actually  hewed  their  tedious 
and  tortuous  way  to  the  Golden  Gate.  Enduring 
monuments  are  being  erected  to  their  memory  in 
appreciation  of  the  services  of  Fremont,  Lewis, 
Johnston,  Boone  and  others. 

"Here  we  have  in  our  very  midst  a  pioneer  in 
the  Science  of  Selection  that  means  more  to  the 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        185 

human  race  than  did  the  works  of  those  sturdy 
pioneers  just  mentioned.  They  discovered  nothing, 
but  they  opened  up  a  way  through  the  wilderness 
that  must  have  been  done  sooner  or  later  by  others. 

"Miss  Davidge  is  our  pioneer  in  a  better  race  of 
manhood.  She  is  but  a  young  girl  who  has  braved 
the  sneers  and  suspicions  of  her  female  world  in 
support  of  a  principle  that  means  so  much  to  man 
kind  in  general.  She  has  courage  equal  to  that  of 
the  martyrs  of  the  early  Christian  age.  She  is 
doing  that  which,  to  her,  seems  right,  and  we  ought 
to  give  her  all  the  encouragement  and  support  that 
our  presence  as  visitors  in  her  parlor  can  give. 

"To  a  better  appreciation  of  her  work,  let  us 
look  about  us  and  see  what  we  have  ever  done  to 
help  civilization;  who  has  ever  given  a  thought  of 
bringing  about  a  reformation  that  tended  to  advance 
civilization.  Who  amongst  us  has  had  the  courage 
to  do  so  even  if  we  had  thought  of  it.  Her  only 
stock  in  trade,  as  the  business  man  would  put  it, 
was  a  resolute  purpose,  a  pure  heart,  and  a  character 
that  is  second  to  none.  She  had  a  resolution  to  find 
out  whether  a  disinterested  love  was  offered  or 
whether  it  was  a  selfish  offering,  and  she  had  two 
sensible  parents  who  believed  in  her  and  gave  coun- 


1 86   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

tenance  and  support  in  this  departure  toward  a  bet 
ter  and  more  happy  life  for  her,  which  they  esti 
mated  to  be  far  more  valuable  to  her  than  riches. 

"She  is  entitled  to  the  support  of  all  womankind. 
Her  science  is  not  alone  for  this  generation,  but 
promises  more  to  generations  to  come  than  can  be 
seen  during  our  day.  Future  generations  will  rise 
up  and  call  her  blessed." 

"But  there  are  so  many  of  these  cults  that  are 
introduced,  lived  for  a  day,  and  are  then  forgotten," 
said  Mrs.  Ellis. 

"Oh,  you  cannot  mean  to  compare  Miss  Dav- 
idge's  cult  with  the  common  acceptation  of  the 
meaning  of  that  word.  Hers  is  a  Science,  a  Relig 
ion,  a  Faith." 

"Mona  is  right  in  her  Science  of  Selection.  It 
was  only  to-day  that  I  heard  my  husband  talking 
in  the  library  with  his  farmer  from  up  in  West- 
chester  County  about  improving  the  breed  of  his 
swine.  That  is  done  by  the  Science  of  Selection  of 
stock. 

"If  swine  and  cattle  can  be  improved  by  selec 
tion  why  cannot  mankind  be  improved  in  a  like 
manner?  Man  has  not  reached  perfection  by  a 
long  way,  and  neither  has  woman.  We  choose  our 
husbands  as  we  do  our  spring  bonnets,  according 


WOMEN  DISCUSS  THE  PLAN.        187 


as  they  please  our  fancy.  We  never  improve  on  our 
tastes,  but  take  what  has  been  a  variable  fancy 
of  the  milliner,  year  in  and  year  out,  feathers  this 
spring  and  lace  and  fur  next  fall,  and  so  on  until 
that  fashion  comes  around  again. 

"Woman  is  the  same  frivolous  creature  gener 
ation  after  generation  without  an  opinion  or  resolu 
tion  worth  considering.  Man  is  not  any  better. 
He  does  not  look  for  a  wife  with  any  thought  as  to 
what  influence  that  selection  will  have  upon  his 
descendants.  That  important  consideration  never 
enters  his  mind. 

"Man's  mind  is  never  spiritual.  He  is  sensual 
always  and  sensuality  governs  him  in  selecting  a 
wife  as  we  are  informed  by  a  French  philosopher. 
He  will  prate  about  affinity,  but  it  spells  sensuality. 

"The  incoming  of  Dr.  Morrison  put  an  end  to  the 
discussion  and  the  ladies  bade  their  hostess  farewell 
and  departed." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  two  days  following  were  consumed  in  short 
excursions  to  points  of  interest  and  in  entertaining 
visitors.  Dr.  Morrison  and  wife  called  on  Wednes 
day  evening  and  found  the  Davidges  and  Miss 
Winter  already  in  the  parlor,  and  after  the  ordinary 
civilities  had  passed  between  them  Dr.  Morrison 
took  up  the  cudgel  against  Christian  Science  be 
cause  of  the  death  of  a  young  woman  who  had  been 
deprived  of  the  care  of  a  medical  physician  after 
she  had  embraced  the  faith-cure  of  that  church. 

Ralph  asked,  "Is  the  choice  of  a  church  not  an 
inalienable  right  of  all  adult  people?" 

"Oh,  yes,  that  is  unquestionably  everybody's  right. 
It  is  the  right  of  every  person  to  go  wherever  their 
faith  leads  them;  but  when  the  body  is  weak  and 
racked  with  pain  the  mind  is  easily  influenced  and 
they  are  not  equal  to  the  strain  of  combating  the 
argument  of  the  so-called  'Healers.'  This  young 

188 


RALPH'S  OPINIONS.  189 

woman  has  been  reared  in  the  Presbyterian  faithi 
before  she  came  under  the  baneful  influence  of  these 
Christian  Scientists,"  said  Dr.  Morrison. 

"It  seems  to  me,"  said  Ralph,  "that  in  this  case 
the  scientists  downed  the  Presbyterians  as  well  as 
the  medical  doctors.  They  were  not  only  the  soul, 
but  the  body,  healers,  rolled  into  one.  If  I  were  in 
the  practice  of  medicine,  no  doubt  I,  too,  would 
consider  the  influence  of  Christian  Science  as 
baneful.  I  understand  they  graduate  as  healers 
without  diploma  or  study,  just  prayer  and  self- 
assurance  as  their  sole  stock  in  trade." 

"Assuredly,"  said  Dr.  Morrison,  "their  self-as 
surance  is  the  only  commodity  they  possess,  and 
they  have  that  bump  on  their  cranium  largely 
developed." 

"I  don't  know  but  that  self-assurance,"  said 
Ralph,  "is  not  as  valuable  an  asset  from  which  to 
choose  a  healer  or  teacher  as  the  parchment  of  the 
Seminaries,  which  is  given  to  the  young  sprig  be 
fore  he  starts  out  in  his  career  as  a  soul-saver  under 
the  auspices  of  any  of  the  churches  of  the  Orthodox 
faith.  Self-assurance  was  the  only  stock  in  trade 
in  the  original  selection  of  the  aspirant  for  the 
parchment,  and  the  text-books,  study,  and  the  pro 
fessors  did  the  rest.  Of  all,  I  think  most  of  the 


190   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

self-assurance  of  the  Christian  Scientist's  healing. 
We  always  like  a  'free  lance'  in  the  ring,  and  they, 
as  a  class,  defy  all  comers  and  take  upon  themselves 
the  imitation  of  Christ  in  their  teaching  of  others 
and  also  as  healers.  Christ  prayed  to  God,  his 
father,  for  power  to  heal  and  raise  the  dead,  and 
they  do  the  same.  You,  Doctor,  call  upon  God  with 
eyes  closed  and  your  voice  filled  with  sanctity  for 
his  blessings  to  descend  upon  all  assembled.  These 
scientists,  I  believe,  pray  silently  and  do  their  heal 
ing-act  in  a  quiet  manner,  all  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
to  whom  they  give  the  credit  for  the  healing,  when 
the  patient  does  not  die.  You  say,  Doctor,  that  the 
patient  is  too  weak  from  pain  and  sickness  to  com 
bat  these  healers.  I  do  not  see  any  inducement  for 
any  religion,  except  the  fear  of  Hell.  If  you  elimin 
ate  that,  the  roll  of  membership  in  your  church 
would  very  materially  and  rapidly  diminish." 

"The  fear  of  Hell,"  said  Dr.  Morrison,  "like  the 
fear  of  civil  law,  may  be  necessary  for  some,  while 
others  do  good  for  the  very  love  of  it,  and  fear  of 
punishment  has  no  place  in  their  religion,  and  they 
would  be  good  Christians  if  the  subject  of  Hell  were 
wholly  eliminated. 

"I  am  afraid,  Mr.  Guy,"  said  Dr.  Morrison, 
"that  you  have  started  on  the  sea  of  life  without 


RALPH'S  OPINIONS.  191 

compass  or  sail  and  are  drifting  to  a  dangerous  coast. 
You  have  declared  yourself  already  to  be  an  unbe 
liever  and  I  fear  that  you  are  also  an  atheist,  a 
very  reckless,  not  to  say  dangerous,  condition  for  a 
young  man.  The  world-history  has  shown  us  that 
nations  adopting  that  unbelief,  or  entire  absence  of 
faith  which  you  have  enunciated,  are  found  going 
from  bad  to  worse  and  losing  the  prestige  they  had 
gained,  like  the  Latin  races." 

"That  may  be  so,  Doctor,"  said  Ralph,  "but  what 
would  you  urge?  Hypocrisy  is  as  undesirable  and 
despicable,  if  not  worse,  than  an  abandonment  of 
that  which  will  not  appeal  to  reason.  Our  brains 
are  the  development  of  ages,  and  to  be  truant  to 
reason  is  doing  outrage  to  nature.  You  would  not 
have  me  profess  to  embrace  a  faith  which  my 
reason  rejects." 

"No,  Mr.  Guy,  I  would  not.  But  if  you  would 
favorably  entertain  a  faith  which  is  believed  to  be 
the  true  faith  and  which  has  for  many  generations 
satisfied  just  men  who  were  as  intelligent  as  you  or 
myself,  you  might  take  comfort  in  and  finally  em 
brace  it." 

"But,  Doctor,  how  is  one  to  choose  between  the 
many  faiths  presented  for  consideration,  all  pro 
fessing  to  be  the  true  faith  ?  The  Romanists  present 


192      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

theirs  and  tell  you  it  is  descended  direct  from  the 
Apostles,  and  that  Christ  founded  their  church  upon 
Peter  as  the  Rock  or  foundation  and  that  theirs  is 
the  only  true  church.  According  to  your  reasoning, 
you  ought  to  embrace  their  faith  and  their  church 
because  it  was  founded  by,  and  received  the  special 
benediction  of,  Christ.  If  you  are  right  when  you 
reject  the  claims  of  the  Romish  Church  as  the  only 
true  church,  why  am  I  not  right  when  I  reject  it,  and 
if  I  have  the  right  to  reject  it  why  have  I  not  the 
right  to  reject  them  all. 

"You  will  tell  me,  perhaps,  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  has  no  more  right  to  that  claim 
than  had  Martin  Luther  and  other  founders  of  a 
faith,  but  in  doing  so  you  are  calling  reason  to  the 
defense  of  your  position.  Reason  is  the  common 
property  of  all  intelligent  people.  Because  you  feel 
yourself  able  to  place  a  different  interpretation  upon 
those  passages  in  the  Bible  upon  which  the  Roman 
Church  bases  its  authority  for  being  the  only 
true  church,  and  thereupon  reject  their  claim, 
you  should  not  arrogate  to  yourself  the  sole  right 
to  employ  reason  and  with  the  same  breath  charge 
me  with  being  an  Atheist  because  my  reason  will 
not  permit  me  to  accept  the  Bible  as  the  word  of 
God  and  as  my  guide,  for  reason  is,  or  should  be, 


RALPH'S  OPINIONS.  193 

as  free  to  the  intelligent  adult  layman  as  it  is  to  the 
cleric.  As  well  might  you  say  that  my  soul  should 
be  condemned  to  Hell  and  there  burn  forever  be 
cause  I  eat  leavened  bread. 

"Because  I  refuse  to  believe  that  Christ  was  other 
than  a  good,  moral  man,  and  cannot  believe  in  the  so- 
called  miracles  that  are  ascribed  to  him;  that  he 
arose  from  the  grave  after  his  execution  on  the 
cross  and  ascended  bodily  to  Heaven,  am  I  to  be 
condemned  to  eternal  punishment  because  my 
reason  rejects  those  things?  If  so,  then  the  Christ 
ian  Charity  preached  from  the  pulpit  is  a  farce." 

"I  am  very  sorry  to  find  any  young  man  of  your 
attainments,  Mr.  Guy,  throwing  away  his  chances 
of  happiness  in  a  suicidal  manner.  You  will  regret  it 
some  day." 

The  doctor  bade  them  good-night  and  departed. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

When  Mrs.  Morrison's  lady-callers  had  departed, 
Dr.  Morrison  sat  down  with  his  wife  and  had  a  cup 
of  tea  and  a  cracker.  He  seemed  so  distraught  that 
his  wife's  attention  was  quick  in  perceiving  that 
something  very  unusual  had  crossed  his  path.  She 
waited  as  long  as  she  could  contain  herself  and 
then  said,  "Dear  husband,  what  has  pained  you 
so  deeply?  I  have  seldom  seen  you  in  such  appar 
ent  distress;  tell  me  what  has  occurred." 

"Well,  dear,  I  am  very  deeply  pained  and  the 
situation  is  so  delicate  that  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  to  handle  it,  involving  as  it  does  the  Christian 
character  of  one  of  my  church  Trustees  and  the 
integrity  and  honor  of  a  prominent  communionist 
of  my  congregation. 

"For  the  present,  I  will  mention  the  name  of 
neither  one  of  them.  You  have,  perhaps,  noticed 

104 


A  CALL  FOR  HELP.  195 

the  absence  from  worship  of  the  widow,  Mrs. 
Woods,  for  about  two  weeks  past  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Morrison,  "now  that  you  have 
mentioned  it  I  have.  Do  you  know  the  cause, 
dear?" 

"Yes,  she  is  sick  and  in  distress.  I  am  more 
pained  by  this  case  than  I  have  been  for  a  long  time, 
if  ever  before.  When  her  husband  died  recently 
she  was  about  to  become  a  mother,  and  she  has  since 
given  birth  to  a  bright  blue-eyed  boy.  All  the  in 
come  that  the  family  has  had  to  live  upon  since  her 
sickness  was  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  personal 
property. 

"The  most  painful  feature,  however,  is  the  fact 
that  a  Trustee  of  my  church  was  chosen  by  the 
Court  as  Administrator,  and  his  justice,  if  justice  it 
was  that  was  dealt  out  to  the  widow,  was  not  tem 
pered  with  mercy.  She  informed  me  that  at  least 
one  of  the  alleged  debts  which  the  Administrator 
insisted  upon  paying  had  been  paid  by  her  husband 
sometime  before  he  had  been  taken  down  sick. 
This  she  knows,  because  he  said  to  her  one  day,  'I 
have  just  paid  that  old  skin-flint  Kearns,'  as  he 
expressed  himself  in  telling  her. 

"She  so  informed  Brother  Tanks.  I  might  as  well 
tell  you  who  they  are  because  you  must  learn  it 


196   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

sooner  or  later,  but  don't  tell  it  to  others.  She 
pleaded  to  him  not  to  pay  that  money  a  second 
time." 

"And  did  he?"  eagerly  inquired  Mrs.  Morrison. 

"Yes,  he  did,"  said  her  husband.  "It  was  that 
payment  that  took  their  little  all  and  reduced  them 
to  positive  want.  Mr.  Woods  was  unmethodic  in 
business.  He  did  not  require  a  receipt.  When  his 
wife  would  reason  with  him  on  that  question,  he 
said,  'I  have  paid  the  money  once  and  they  will 
never  get  it  again.'  Poor  man,  he  little  thought 
that  his  sick  widow  would  have  to  pay  this  debt  a 
second  time  and  bring  his  little  family  to  want  so 
soon  after  his  death.  She  has  now  five  children  and 
the  oldest  is  only  eight." 

"What  will  the  poor  widow  do?  Of  course,  she 
could  not  go  out  to  work  if  she  found  any  because  of 
her  infant.  Truly,  the  world  must  look  dark  and 
cold  to  her.  What  do  the  men  say,  for  of  course 
you  have  seen  both  of  them  about  it?" 

"The  Administrator  said  that  brother  Kearns 
insisted  that  the  debt  was  still  owing  and  must  be 
paid.  Of  course  Kearns  disputed  the  alleged  pay 
ment,  and  the  widow  has  no  proof  showing  that  it- 
had  been." 

"Well  what  will  the  poor  woman,  with  all  those 


A  CALL  FOR  HELP.  197 

small  children  do?"  asked  Mrs.  Morrison.  "It  is 
too  bad.  I  believe  her  when  she  said  the  debt  had 
been  paid.  Mr.  Woods  was,  at  heart,  a  very  just 
man." 

"I  am  in  sore  distress  over  the  matter,  because 
both  men  are  my  friends  and  both  are  communi 
cants  in  my  church.  Mr.  Woods  was  not  much  of  a 
church-goer,  but  he  had  the  reputation  of  an  honest 
man  and  straightforward  in  business." 

"The  poor  woman  will  suffer.  She  is  a  very 
self-respecting  woman  and  one  that  I  always  liked. 
She  has  raised  her  children  to  be  so  polite  and  nice. 
They  are  all  too  small  to  work  and  earn  anything. 
How  she  is  to  get  along  and  not  suffer,  I  can't 
imagine." 

"Wife,"  said  the  doctor  with  more  feeling  than 
he  usually  showed,  "it  is  time  to  quit  wondering 
and  to  commence  devising  ways  how  she  is  to  be 
saved  from  distress.  I  will  look  to  you  and  your 
lady  friends  to  save  her  from  distress  as  well  as  to 
do  it  in  such  a  manner  that  she  will  not  be  humil 
iated.  She  is  now  up  and  around  the  house  with  the 
baby  in  her  arms.  You  must  call  upon  her  right 
away  and  don't  be  bemoaning  her  distressful  con 
dition.  Call  upon  her  in  the  same  respectful  and 


198   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

formal  manner  that  you  did  the  last)  time  you 
called." 

"Of  course  I  will  call  right  away.  I  wish  I  knew 
what  I  could  do  to  help  her  without  hurting  her 
feelings.  We  can't  treat  her  as  a  charity  case," 
said  Mrs.  Morrison. 

"I  will  give  you  a  start,"  said  Dr.  Morrison.  "In 
the  first  place  call  upon  her  and  show  your  respect 
for  her.  Tell  Mrs.  Davidge  the  history  of  the  case 
and  then  consult  together  and  see  other  ladies  of 
the  congregation,  for  this  must  be  a  congregation 
affair  since  her  distress  grew  out  of  a  questionable 
transaction  in  which  church  members  figured.  I 
think  the  whole  matter  borders  on  the  disgraceful." 

"Very  well,  dear,  I  will  call  upon  her  this  after 
noon,  and  perhaps  I  may  see  a  way  out  of  the 
difficulty." 

Dr.  Morrison  started  for  his  study,  and  before 
closing  the  door  said,  "Let  me  know  at  tea-time  what 
you  have  done." 

Four  o'clock  in  the  evening  found  Mrs.  Morri 
son  in  the  sitting  room  of  Mrs.  Woods  cuddling  the 
baby  to  her  bosom  and  showing  real  affection  for 
the  little  mite  of  a  boy.  Her  visit  was  a  very 
pleasant  one  for  both  ladies.  She  made  much,  too, 
of  the  youngest  daughter,  a  slight  child  with  red 


A  CALL  FOR  HELP.  199 

hair  and  a  very  fair  complexion.  Mrs.  Morrison 
toyed  with  the  young  girl's  curls  and  expressed  her 
love  for  curly  hair  of  that  color,  which  led  the 
widow  to  say  that  she  had  prayed  that  her  baby 
would  have  hair  like  its  father,  and  of  her  disap 
pointment  when  she  found  it  dark. 

Mrs.  Morrison's  visit  was  at  an  end  and  she  was 
no  nearer  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  that  con 
fronted  her  husband  than  she  was  when  she  left 
home. 

On  her  way  home,  she  called  upon  Mrs.  Davidge 
to  ask  that  lady  to  help  her  in  devising  some  way  to 
relieve  the  widow's  distressed  condition,  for  she  had 
utterly  failed,  though  she  thought  she  had  done 
some  hard  thinking. 

Mrs.  Davidge  was  an  interested  listener  from  the 
beginning  of  the  story.  She  had  remembered  the 
family  and  slightly  knew  the  widow  from  having 
met  her  at  some  church  function  and  to  have  no 
ticed  the  neat  children  in  the  church  pew,  and  par 
ticularly  the  little  girl  with  the  red  hair  and  the  blue 
eyes.  As  soon  as  Mrs.  Morrison  had  finished,  she 
said  she  would  call  on  the  morrow  and  would  take 
Mona,  and  see  if  between  them  something  could  not 
be  devised  for  the  relief  of  the  family. 

Mrs.  Morrison  informed  her  of  the  great  distress 


200      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

of  the  Doctor  and  said  that  he  felt  a  personal 
responsibility  because  the  whole  unfortunate  affair 
was  caused  by  some  of  his  church  membership  in 
which  he  feared  that  injustice  had  been  done  the 
widow  and  certainly  that  they  had  not  been  merciful 
to  the  fatherless. 

Mrs.  Morrison  was  just  entering  her  coupe  when 
Mona  came  along  the  sidewalk.  The  ladies  ex 
changed  salutations  and  Mona  entered  the  hall  that 
led  to  the  elevator,  which  she  entered  and  was  soon 
in  her  mother's  room. 

"Why,  daughter,"  said  Mrs.  Davidge,  "I  was  just 
thinking  of  you  and  was  intending  to  call  you  on 
the  'phone.  Are  you  well?" 

"Yes,  mother.  I  feel  so  robust  that  I  am  dissatis 
fied  with  my  useless  waste  of  time.  I  wish  I  had 
something  to  do  that  would  consume  some  of  my 
vigor." 

"Daughter,  Mrs.  Morrison  has  just  informed 
me  of  a  distressing  case  of  want  in  one  of  our 
church  membership.  It  is  the  kind  of  case  that  re 
quires  to  be  handled  carefully  and  with  judgment 
and  tact.  Suppose  we  do  our  marketing  together 
to-morrow  and  we  will  then  call  on  the  lady  unless 
you  have  something  on  hand." 

"No,  mother,  I  have  nothing.    I  will  gladly  be  at 


MONA  INTERESTED.  201 

your  service."  Mrs.  Davidge  related  the  history  of 
the  case  to  Mona. 

"When  we  get  there,  I  want  you  to  put  your  wits 
to  work  to  the  end  that  you  may  devise  some  way 
of  rendering  aid  to  the  widow  and  her  family  of 
little  ones.  We  don't  want  it  to  appear  as  if  it  was 
charity.  If  the  widow  was  able  to  leave  her  babe 
to  go  to  work,  perhaps  there  is  no  work  that  she 
could  do." 

"It  is  terrible  to  think  that  the  love  of  money 
would  lead  a  man  to  rob  a  widow.  Oh,  mother,  we 
little  know,  through  our  life  of  ease  and  comfort, 
what  suffering  there  is  in  the  world  and  even  in  our 
very  midst.  How  old  are  the  children,  mother?" 

"The  oldest  girl  is  only  eight  years,  and  I  think 
that  there  are  three  out  of  the  five  that  are  girls." 

"Perhaps  that  is  a  case  that  can  be  helped  by  our 
Young  People's  Class  in  some  way.  I  will  be 
around  to-morrow  at  nine.  I  was  just  returning 
found  Miss  Stuart's  and  did  not  intend  to  sit  down. 
I  am  glad  I  called,  for  I  will  now  put  my  studying 
cap  on  and  try  to  think  of  some  way  out  before  we 
call.  This  will  at  least  be  a  diversion  of  thought. 
Thinking  along  one  line  lately  has  become  monoton 
ous,  and  even  making  moppets  would  prove  to  be 
a  diversion." 


202   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

The  next  morning  the  mother  and  daughter  met 
as  determined  upon  and  proceeded  to  make  the  call 
upon  the  widow,  and  as  they  neared  the  house  Mrs. 
Davidge  said,"I  am  taking  you  ostensibly  to  see  the 
baby  of  which  Mrs.  Morrison  told  me." 

"Yes,  mother,"  said  Mona. 

Soon  after  they  had  been  ushered  in  Mona's  eyes 
rested  upon  a  bright-faced  dark-eyed  child  of  eight 
or  nine  years,  whose  raven  black  hair  she  remem 
bered  having  seen  in  Miss  Stuart's  Sunday  school 
class,  named  Marion. 

"Why,  Marion,  how  do  you  do,  dear?  I  did  not 
know  that  it  was  your  little  brother  that  mother 
was  bringing  me  to  see." 

"Yes,  Miss  Mona.  it  is  my  brother.  I'll  show 
him  to  you.  Please  sit  down  and  I  will  bring  him." 

Little  Marion  went  to  another  room  and  presently 
brought  in  the  little  baby  brother  whom  Mona  took 
and  fondled  lovingly.  In  the  meantime,  Mrs.  Dav 
idge  was  conversing  with  the  widow  and  was  no 
nearer  the  solution  than  Mrs.  Morrison  had  been. 

The  house  was  neatly  and  plainly  furnished  and 
the  children  were  neatly  and  comfortably  clad  and 
there  was  no  evidence  present  of  want.  The  baby 
in  Mona's  arms  showing  signs  of  distress,  the  mother 
took  it  in  her  arms  to  soothe  it,  when  Mona's  eyes 


MONA'S  PLAN.  203 

quickly  rested  upon  a  home-made  rug  of  unusually 
neat  appearance.  She  immediately  took  it  in  her 
hands  and  apologized  to  Mrs.  Woods  for  the  liberty, 
and  asked  who  made  it,  adding,  "that  is  just  the 
kind  of  rug  that  I  want  for  the  side  of  my  bed.  Did 
you  make  it?" 

"Yes,  Miss  Mona,  I  made  it.  It  is  made  of  rags 
with  centre  hooked  in." 

"Don't  you  think  it  lovely?" 

Mrs.  Davidge  expressed  her  admiration  for  it 
when  Mona  asked  Mrs.  Woods  if  she  could  make 
one  for  her  or  sell  her  that  one. 

"I  could  easily  make  one  for  you,  but  I  have  no 
suitable  material  at  present,"  said  Mrs.  Woods. 

"We  have  plenty  of  old  dresses  that  would  do," 
said  Mona. 

"How  much  will  you  sell  this  one  to  me  for  ?"  I 
want  it  awful  bad." 

"I  suppose  that  it  is  worth  a  dollar,"  said  Mrs. 
Wood. 

"A  dollar?  I  should  say  so,"  said  Mona,  who  had 
already  taken  a  crisp  two-dollar  bill  out  of  her 
pocket  and  laid  it  on  the  widow's  knee,  saying  "I 
know  that  it  is  worth  two  dollars,  and  I  want  one 
made  for  my  writing  desk.  Please  make  it  two 


204   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

feet  square.  No,  make  it  two  feet  long  by  fifteen 
inches  wide. 

"If  you  will  send  little  Marion  over  this  evening 
to  mother's  rooms,  we  will  have  a  bundle  of  dresses 
and  petticoats  ready  for  you.  Mother,  you  will 
want  one  yourself,  won't  you?" 

"Yes,  I  will  want  one." 

Mona  produced  a  card  and  wrote  her  mother's 
address  on  it,  and  called  little  Marion  over  and 
asked  her  if  she  could  read  the  address. 

Marion  read  the  address,  and  said  she  could  find 
the  place. 

Mona  told  her  that  perhaps  she  had  better  bring 
her  younger  brother  with  her  to  carry  the  bundle. 
"Now,  tell  me,  Marion,  what  time  you  can  be 
there." 

Marion  looked  for  her  mother  to  answer,  and 
Mrs.  Woods  said  they  could  be  there  by  five,  if 
that  would  suit.  "Yes,  that  would  do  very  well. 
Where  did  you  learn  my  name,  Marion?"  asked 
Mona. 

"I  heard  Miss  Stuart  call  you  Mona  last  Christ 
inas,  when  we  had  our  Sunday-school  Christmas 
tree  at  the  church." 

"I  am  afraid  you  paid  too  much  for  the  rug,  Miss 
Mona." 


MONA'S  PLAN.  205 

"No,  indeed,  Mrs.  Woods;  that  is  just  right." 

The  two  ladies  passed  out,  and  the  elder  was 
feeling  very  happy,  and  said,  "Mona,  I  am  so  glad 
you  did  just  as  you  did.  We  can  sell  a  lot  of  those 
pretty  rugs,  just  as  fast  as  the  poor  woman  can 
make  them.  You  had  better  come  home  with  me 
and  lunch,  and  then  we  will  investigate  what  can 
be  found  that  we  don't  want." 

They  arrived  at  home,  and  Mona  called  up  her 
housekeeper  and  informed  her  that  she  would  lunch 
with  her  mother,  and  that  "if  any  of  the  girls  call, 
tell  them  to  come  over,  that  I  want  to  see  them." 

The  ladies  had  just  entered  upon  their  work  of 
going  over  their  supply  of  clothes,  when  Mrs.  Mor 
rison  came  in,  and  Mrs.  Davidge  told  her  how 
Mona  had  hit  upon  a  plan  that  seemed  feasible. 

"Please  let  me  use  your  'phone,  and  call  Mr. 
Morrison,  as  he  is  very  much  worried  over  the 
matter."  She  called  the  Doctor,  and  he  was  there 
in  a  very  short  time. 

When  told  that  it  was  Mona  that  had  found  a 
way  out,  he  seized  that  young  lady  by  the  hand 
and  said :  "Oh,  you  are  a  jewel,  Mona !  You  have 
done  me  a  great  service,  and  I  thank  you  very 
much." 

Mona  smiled  at  his  enthusiasm,  and  said:  "We 


206   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

are  trying  to  figure  out  how  we  can  make  the  job 
lasting,  and  to  facilitate  it  so  she  can  at  least  make 
one  rug  a  day.  If  the  rug  trade  runs  out,  we  can 
use  her  skill  in  making  carpet-rags  for  the  weav 
ing  of  rag-carpet,  of  which  there  is  a  great  deal 
made  and  sold  up  in  St.  Lawrence  County.  When 
making  carpet-rags,  we  can  sew  rags,  and  I  will 
act  as  her  agent  in  disposing  of  them  up  country, 
and  it  will  be  easy  then  to  riiake  rag  balls  and  ship 
them  in  her  name." 

"Well,  Mona,  I  wish  that  you  would  engage  to 
manage  this  thing  to  the  end,  and  if  you  need  any 
funds  within  reason,  call  upon  me." 

"Very  well,  Doctor,"  said  Mona.  "Our  kitchen 
floor  at  the  church  needs  a  carpet,  and  a  rag 
carpet  is  plenty  good  for  it;  and  I  guess  Mrs. 
Woods  could  make  that  nicely,  and  it  would  give 
her  a  job  paying  her  several  dollars.  I  will  take 
its  measurement,  and  let  you  know  what  it  will 
cost.  I  will  do  that  to-morrow  or  next  day.  I 
think  our  Young  Ladies'  Class  will  help  on  that, 
and  I  will  see  Mrs.  Woods  about  it,  and  induce  her 
to  make  it." 

Promptly  at  five  that  evening  the  two  children 
were  at  Mrs.  Davidge's  to  get  the  materials,  and 
brought  with  them  Mona's  rug. 


MONA'S  PLAN.  207 

The  bundle  was  quite  a  large  one,  and  Mona 
told  Marion  that  if  she  got  tired,  to  take  a  car 
and  ride  home,  and  gave  the  child  a  quarter  to  pay 
the  fare. 

"Tell  your  mother  to  make  the  centre  of  my  rug 
pink,  for  which  she  will  find  a  pink  silk  petticoat 
that  I  think  will  do  for  it.  The  border  is  to  be 
blue.  Tell  your  mother  that  I  will  be  over  to 
morrow  after  lunch." 

Mona  busied  herself  the  next  day,  until  the  after 
noon,  in  the  selection  of  various  bundles  of  clothes 
that  had  come  in  to  her  mother,  and  weighed 
them,  to  make  an  estimate  as  to  the  quantity  yet 
needed.  She  felt  sure  that  she  could  induce  Mrs. 
Woods  to  undertake  the  job  of  making  the  carpet. 
She  was  anxious  to  get  the  girls  on  the  job  of  sew 
ing  the  material  together. 

At  two  o'clock  she  was  at  Mrs.  Woods'  door, 
and  when  admitted,  she  saw  her  desk  rug  almost 
completed.  The  little  children  were  all  engaged  upon 
the  sewing  of  strips  together.  Mrs.  Woods  was  just 
finishing  the  hooking-in  of  the  pink  centre,  and  it 
pleased  Mona's  taste  immensely.  She  declared  her 
intention  of  carrying  it  home  herself. 

"Mrs.  Woods,"  said  Mona,  "you  know  how  badly 
our  church  kitchen  floor  needs  a  covering.  Well, 


208   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Dr.  Morrison  has  given  me  authority  to  have  a 
carpet  bought  or  made  for  it,  and  I  thought,  as  I 
came  over,  that  a  rag  carpet  was  plenty  good  for  it, 
and  that  you  could  do  the  work.  What  do  you  think 
about  it?" 

"I  could  do  the  sewing,  but  could  not  do  the 
weaving,"  said  the  widow.  "I  priced  the  cost  of 
weaving  some  time  ago,  and  learned  that  the  price 
was  ten  cents  a  yard,  furnishing  the  chain.  How 
many  yards  will  it  take  for  the  kitchen?" 

"It  will  take  fourteen  and  a  half  yards,"  said 
Mona.  "We  ought  to  be  able  to  pay  thirty  cents 
a  yard." 

"The  price  is  twenty-five  cents,"  said  the  con 
scientious  widow. 

"Yes,  but  we  want  this  selected,  so  that  the 
stripes  are  at  least  two  inches  wide,  and  made  as 
carefully  as  you  make  the  rugs.  When  can  you 
get  at  it?" 

"I  will  finish  your  mother's  rug  to-night,  and 
could  enter  upon  it  to-morrow.  Shall  I  use  the  rest 
of  your  material  on  the  carpet?  Your  rugs  did 
not  use  more  than  one-third  of  it." 

"Oh,  we  have  a  lot  more  that  has  been  sent  in 
to  mother  this  morning.  Couldn't  you  make  a 


MONA'S  PLAN.  209 

couple  of  dresses  for  the  girls  out  of  that  drab 
dress  of  mother's?  Don't  hesitate  to  take  it,  for 
we  have  a  great  deal  of  other  material.  Where  did 
the  weaver  live  that  you  spoke  of?" 

"He  lives  on  Thirty-second  Street,  East  Side,  be 
tween  Second  and  Third  Avenues.  He  lives  in  a 
basement  about  the  middle  of  the  square  on  the 
north  side.  I  do  not  know  his  name." 

"I  can  find  that  easily.  The  cars  go  over  Thirty- 
fourth  Street.  You  can  begin  that  to-morrow  and 
send  the  balls  to  the  church  kitchen,  and  I  will  see 
to  the  shipping  of  them  away.  Send  over  all  you 
have  on  Friday  night.  I  am  awfully  pleased  with 
my  rug.  You  can  send  mother's  rug  over  to-mor 
row;  I  will  pay  for  mother's  rug,  too,"  and  Mona 
handed  the  widow  four  dollars. 

"Miss  Mona,  this  is  too  much;  three  dollars  is 
plenty." 

"No,  indeed,  it  is  not.    Good-bye." 

Mona  had  not  gone  from  the  door  when  she 
thought  of  the  weaver  getting  one-third  of  the 
money,  and  she  returned  to  the  door,  and,  in  her 
eagerness,  forgot  to  knock,  and  opened  the  door, 
saying : 

"I  beg  your  pardon  for  rushing  in  so  unceremoni- 


210   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

ously,  but  I  just  realized  that  the  weaver  gets  one- 
third  of  that  money  for  the  carpet.  Could  you  not 
make  a  square  rug  of  ten  by  twelve  feet?" 

"Yes,  I  can." 

"Then  let  us  make  a  rug  instead-  of  the  carpet, 
and  you  will  get  all  the  money  yourself.  Let  us 
do  that.  Suppose  we  make  the  centre  red,  and  the 
rest  of  it  gray  and  blue,  with  the  stripes  not  less 
than  six  inches  wide,  with  a  gray  border  about 
twelve  inches." 

As  soon  as  she  reached  home,  she  called  up  Mrs. 
Morrison  and  told  her  of  what  she  had  resolved 
upon,  and  how  she  had  managed  for  the  rag  balls  to 
be  sent  to  the  church  kitchen.  She  suggested  that 
about  equal  parts  of  the  rags  should  be  red  and 
gray,  with  several  pounds  of  blue. 

Mrs.  Morrison  was  delighted  with  the  success  of 
Mona's  plan,  and  said  that  the  Doctor,  too,  would 
be  delighted. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

In  a  dingy-looking  house  on  Bleeker  Street,  over 
a  saloon  frequented  by  Socialists  and  Anarchists 
known  to  the  police  of  New  York,  on  the  third  floor 
back,  was  a  room  perhaps  twelve  by  twelve.  It 
was  scantily  furnished,  with  a  square,  ink-spotted 
table,  without  a  cover.  It  was  of  the  kind  used 
in  saloons,  where  it  had  done  duty  long,  with  trian 
gular  places  under  the  top,  where  beer  mugs  are 
placed,  while  the  top  is  being  used  as  a  card  table. 
A  half-dozen  wooden  chairs  and  a  shelf  that  did 
duty  as  mantel  and  book-shelf,  on  which  were  a 
number  of  volumes  treating  on  revolutions  in 
Europe,  with  lives  of  Kossuth,  Garibaldi  and  lesser 
lights,  all  revolutionists.  There  were  some  cheap 
prints  on  the  wall;  amongst  them  was  a  news 
paper  picture  of  the  Haymarket  gang,  who  were 
executed  in  Chicago  some  years  ago,  completing 
the  furnishings  of  the  room.  A  door  led  to  a  small 

211 


212   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

bedroom  off  to  the  north  side,  which  served  as  a 
home  to  the  leader  of  the  quartette  seated  at  the 
table. 

In  the  group  seated  at  the  table  there  was  one 
in  particular,  evidently  the  dominant  mind  amongst 
them,  to  whom  the  other  three  pay  deference.  He 
has  dark  and  forbidding  features,  with  black  eye 
brows  which  meet  over  his  nose  and  bristle  upward 
and  out.  An  ugly  red  scar  that  curves  over  the 
left  eye,  and  another  low  down  on  the  left  cheek, 
show  that  he  has  been  severely  handled  at  some 
time.  His  face  is  flushed  with  anger  as  he  frowns 
at  the  letter  in  his  hands.  The  nose,  too,  has  been 
broken  at  the  bridge,  giving  him  the  aspect  of  a 
fighter,  and  withal  a  dangerous-looking  man. 

There  is  nothing  attractive  in  the  faces  or  forms 
of  the  three  deferential  companions. 

It  is  evident  that  they  are  awaiting  the  coming  of 
someone  in  some  way  connected  with  the  letter. 
To  the  mutterings  of  the  leader,  they  promptly  re 
spond,  "You  bet  he  won't,"  and  "You'll  bring  him 
down." 

A  footstep  heard  on  the  stairs,  slowly  ascending 
and  occasionally  stumbling  in  the  dark,  attracts 
their  attention  as  it  approaches  the  door,  which 
is  flung  open,  and  Mr.  Richter  stands  in  the  room, 


THE  SOCIALISTS.  213 

which  is  much  dimmed  by  the  smoky  and  paper- 
patched  chimney  of  the  kerosene  lamp. 

Mr.  Richter  surveyed  the  group  and  said  "Good 
evening,"  which  salutation  elicited  no  response  from 
any  of  them.  He  then  advanced  to  the  centre  of  the 
room  and  close  to  the  table. 

It  is  then  that  the  leader  says,  without  raising 
his  eyes  from  the  letter,  which  he  gives  a  vicious 
throw  upon  the  table,  "What  does  this  mean?" 

Mr.  Richter  surveyed  him  sternly  before  speak 
ing,  and  then,  in  a  quiet,  collected  manner,  asked, 
"Can't  you  read?  I  think  it  is  written  in  good 
English,  and  is  brief.  What  part  of  it  do  you 
not  understand?" 

"I  don't  understand  any  of  it." 

"Have  you  read  it?" 

"Of  course  I  have.    What  does  it  mean?" 

"Are  you  so  dull  or  ignorant  that  you  can't  com 
prehend  its  meaning?  If  not,  and  you  will  read 
it  aloud  and  will  point  out  what  you  do  not  under 
stand,  I  will  translate  it  for  your  dull  mind." 

He  reached  for  the  paper  that  he  had  thrown 
down,  and  stared  at  it  vacantly,  and  then  raised 
his  eyes  to  Richter  for  the  first  time,  and  grumbled 
out  in  a  gruff  and  forbidding  voice,  "I  demand  an 
explanation  of  it." 


214   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"You  demand.  Pray  who  are  you,  or  what  are 
you,  that  you  make  a  demand  of  me?  Does  it  not 
tell  you  that  I  am  not  intending  to  work  any 
more  in  the  cause  of  Socialism?" 

"Yes,  it  does.  But  I  still  demand  to  know  what 
right  you  have  to  quit  this  work?" 

"You  demand?  And  pray  tell  me,  if  you  know, 
of  whom  you  make  this  demand?  And  then  fur 
ther  tell  me  whom  you  think  yourself  to  be,  that 
you  use  such  language  to  me,  you  ignorant  dog?" 

As  Richter  ceased  speaking,  Bechtel,  for  that 
is  his  name,  flushed  and  maddened  by  the  epithet, 
essayed  to  rise,  while  he  glowered  ferociously  at 
Richter. 

"Sit  down;  and  if  you  rise  to  your  feet  I'll 
choke  the  little  sense  out  of  you  that  I  credited  you 
with.  I  would  strangle  you  like  I  would  a  mad 
dog,  you  cur!" 

"Don't  you  call  me  a  dog,  or  I'll " 

He  raised  his  eyes  to  those  of  Richter,  and  sank 
back  in  his  chair  completely  cowed  by  the  ferocious 
manner  of  the  latter,  who  was  in  a  temper  which  he 
knew  better  than  to  antagonize.  He  gazed  feebly 
at  his  companions,  who  fully  recognized  that  their 
"bully"  was  an  arrant  coward  when  he  met  a  man 
of  courage. 


THE  SOCIALISTS.  215 

In  a  husky  voice  he  said:  "I  didn't  malce  any 
threat,  and  I  don't  want  any  fuss  with  you." 

"Very  well,"  said  Richter.  "I  didn't  come  here 
for  a  fuss,  but  I  will  not  take  your  blustering  nor 
your  bullying.  My  writings  and  my  work  have 
kept  you  for  the  last  five  years,  and,  so  far  as 
any  further  support  it  concerned,  it  is  at  an  end, 
as  I  have  had  the  consideration  to  inform  you. 
That  done,  I  am  now  going."  Richter  took  up 
his  hat,  which  he  had  laid  upon  the  table,  and 
walked  out. 

When  he  had  gone,  Szorgoz  said:  "Isn't  he  a 
terror  when  he  gets  started  ?  I  wouldn't  want  him  to 
get  his  hands  on  to  me  if  he  meant  business." 

"It  wouldn't  have  been  well  for  you  to  have  got 
up,  Bechtel,  for  he  would  have  throttled  you  in  a 
minute,"  said  Strauss. 

"No  he  wouldn't,  neither.  I'd  a  learnt  him  a  lesson 
that  he  wouldn't  a  forgot  in  a  while,"  said  Bechtel. 

It  was  evident  that  the  others  did  not  have  any 
faith  in  his  after-battle  courage.  They  had  seen 
his  assumption  of  bravery  and  bluster  ooze  out  of 
his  forehead  in  great  drops  of  cowardly  sweat,  and 
they  no  longer  believed  in  him  as  a  bully. 

Strauss  took  up  the  letter  which  had  brought 
on  the  controversy,  and  read  it  aloud : 


216      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"New  York  December  10,  1907. 
"To  Circle  Eleven : 

"Messrs.  Bechtel,  Strauss,  Szorzog  and  Welch. 
"Sirs: 

"This  letter  will  inform  you  that  I  will  no  longer 
write  Socialism,  nor  lecture.  I  will  sever  my  con 
nection  with  the  Circle,  and  will  not  again  attend 
the  quizzing  class. 

"Respectfully, 

"KARL  RICHTER." 

Szorzog  said :  "What  are  we  going  to  do  to  lead 
the  quizzing  class?  I  guess  we  might  as  well  close 
up  the  room." 

"I  guess  it  isn't  as  bad  as  that,"  said  Bechtel. 
"I've  had  my  eye  on  a  young  fellow  that  can  talk, 
and  he  might  do  the  quizzing,  too,  if  he  would." 

"Who  is  he?"  asked  Strauss. 

"His  name  is  Max  Marks,"  said  Bechtel;  "but 
I  don't  know  where  he  hangs  out." 

"Is  he  short  and  heavy-set,  with  a  little  bunch 
of  first-growth  whiskers  on  his  chin?"  asked  Welch. 

"That's  him,"  said  Bechtel. 

"I  know  where  I  can  find  him  in  a  few  minutes," 
said  Welch. 

"Well,  go  and  bring  him  if  you  can.     Don't  tell 


THE  SOCIALISTS.  217; 

him  what's  wanted  of  him.  We'd  better  sound  him 
first." 

It  was  not  long  before  their  footsteps  were  heard 
upon  the  stairs,  and  soon  the  door  was  opened  and 
the  two  men  were  warmly  greeted  by  Bechtel  and 
the  rest.  He  was  introduced  to  each  in  turn,  and 
was  then  invited  to  a  seat,  when  Welch  felt  it  his 
duty  to  go  out  and  bring  in  a  pail  of  beer.  Bech 
tel  welcomed  the  beer,  for  his  dry  throat  was  suf 
fering. 

Bethtel  cleared  his  throat,  and,  laying  his  hand 
on  that  of  Marks,  said :  "We  want  someone  to  take 
charge  of  our  quizzing  class,  and  we've  heard  you 
talking  in  a  saloon  some  time  ago,  and  I've  sent 
for  you  thinking  you  were  about  the  right  man. 
I  have  just  discharged  the  man  who  has  been  doing 
that  work  for  us.  What  do  you  think  of  it?" 

"I  don't  know  what  you  or  your  quizzing  class 
is,"  said  the  young  man,  clearly  not  favorably  im 
pressed  with  Bechtel. 

"We  are  Circle  Eleven  of  the  Socialist  Party, 
and  the  quizzing  class  is  composed  of  young  stu 
dents  who  are  anxious  to  know  more  about  the 
party  and  the  cause  than  they  can  pick  up  by 
reading.  We  bring  them  here  to  the  room  and 
question  them  on  the  subject,  and  get  the  best  an- 


218   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

swer  that  they  can  give,  and  then  we  correct  them. 
We  also  invite  them  to  ask  such  questions  as  their 
minds  suggest,  and  we  give  them  the  benefit  of 
our  more  extensive  knowledge.  They  are  willing 
to  pay  a  little  something  for  it.  Then  we  have 
pamphlets  on  the  subject  of  Socialism  and  its  bear 
ing  upon  the  vital  question  of  the  betterment  of 
the  citizens  in  general  and  the  workers  in  particu 
lar,  which  we  sell  to  other  circles.  This  brings  us 
in  quite  a  bit  of  money.  As  I  told  you  before,  the 
man  that  we  had  didn't  fill  the  bill,  and  we've  just 
discharged  him,  and  I  thought  you  were  a  likely 
successor  to  him.  Now,  if  you  have  no  definite 
plans,  and  will  cast  your  fortune  with  ours,  we 
can  make  money  and  give  you  a  prominence  that 
you  cannot  otherwise  get  as  a  speaker  and  writer, 
for  we  will  have  your  writings  printed  and  dis 
tributed.  Suppose  you  take  a  couple  of  our  pam 
phlets  with  you,  and  read  them  over,  and  drop  in  on 
next  Sunday  about  eleven,  and  we  will  then  know 
how  you  feel,  and  you  will  know  about  what  we 
stand  for.  What  say  you?" 

"I'll  look  into  your  literature  and  come  to  see 
you  again  before  I  decide." 

He  was  given  three  of  Richter's  treatises  on 
Socialism,  what  Socialism  has  done  for  Germany, 


THE  SOCIALISTS.  219 

What  Socialism  Means,  Aggressiveness  of  Capital 
and  Its  Grinding  Down  of  Workers. 

Marks  took  the  pamphlets  and  said  "Good-night," 
and  left. 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  him?"  asked  Bechtel. 

"He  has  got  the  stuff  in  him,  if  he  takes  hold," 
said  Strauss. 

When  Marks  left  the  room,  he  made  short  cuts 
across  to  the  Bowery  and  emerged  into  it  through 
Chinatown,  and,  crossing  that  thoroughfare,  dis 
appeared  in  a  dark  hallway  and  ascended  the  stairs 
and  entered  the  living-room  of  a  cheap  boarding- 
house,  where  sat  a  young  girl  engaged  in  repairing 
an  old  dress.  Marks  seated  himself  at  the  side  of 
the  supper  table,  on  which  was  still  spread  the  much- 
stained  cloth  that  had  seen  service  long  beyond  the 
period  of  cleanliness.  He  drew  forth  his  pam 
phlets,  and  at  once  entered  into  their  study,  not  hav 
ing  removed  his  hat  nor  responded  to  the  salutation 
of  the  young  woman  who  bade  him  "Good-evening" 
as  he  entered. 

Marks  was  evidently  fairly  educated  in  German, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  he  said  aloud  to  him 
self,  "Trash !  Milk  and  water,  with  but  little  milk." 
He  thrust  them  in  his  pocket  and  went  out  on  to  the 
Bowery,  and  was  soon  lost  in  the  crowd. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

In  Ralph's  office  were  assembled  several  young 
friends  of  Ralph's,  all  lawyers,  and  another  mu 
tual  friend,  a  physician  from  Poughkeepsie,  who 
was  temporarily  in  the  city.  One  of  the  lawyers 
was  named  Davenport,  whose  office  joined  that  of 
Ralph's  on  the  same  corridor,  and  who  also  occu 
pied  rooms  in  the  same  flat  where  Ralph  roomed. 
Amongst  their  friends,  Davenport  was  considered  a 
woman-hater,  a  cynic,  and  an  all-round  good  fel 
low.  The  men  occupied  chairs  around  the 
office  table,  each  smoking  a  cigar  or  cigarette,  and 
in  a  lolling,  lazy  attitude  of  comfort. 

"Say,  old  man,"  asked  Davenport,  addressing 
Ralph,  "tell  us  about  this  bondage  that  you  have 
become  enmeshed  in,  and  of  which  you  are  the 
hero.  All  sorts  of  versions  of  it  are  afloat,  but 
they  all  agree  upon  the  particular  feature  of  the 
young  lady's  beauty  and  solid  worth,  and,  inciden- 

220 


DISCUSSING  THE"  CONTRACT.       22 1 

tally,  that  the  father-in-law-to-be  has  the  where 
with  that  keeps  one  dry  when  the  proverbial  rainy 
day  is  at  hand." 

"Oh,  there  is  not  much  to  tell,  boys,"  said  Ralph. 
"The  young  lady  in  question  is  all  that  can  be  said 
of  noble  womankind ;  she  has  beauty  of  person,  and 
possesses  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  intelli 
gence  and  wisdom  that  generally  falls  to  the  lot 
of  women  of  her  years.  We  are  engaged  to  be 
married,  but  she  fears  to  marry  until  she  shall  be 
fully  convinced  relative  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
love  that  I  profess  for  her." 

"It  is  not  saying  very  much  for  your  powers  of 
eloquence,  old  man,"  said  Davenport,  "or  perhaps 
you  got  stage  fright  and  bungled  the  story  in  the 
telling." 

"No,"  said  Ralph.  "She  is  but  carrying  out  a 
plan  upon  which  she  was  resolved  long  before  I  met 
her. 

"Well,  is  it  what  might  be  called  a  trial  mar 
riage?"  asked  Dr.  Axtell.  "Do  you  live  as  man 
and  wife?" 

"No.  She  has  her  own  apartment,  and  I  have, 
mine.  I  respect  her  wishes  fully.  She  is  a  very 
pure-minded  girl,  and  I  feel  honored  in  the  con 
fidence  she  gives  me.  Her  parents,  or  at  least  one 


222   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

of  them — her  mother — visits  her  every  day.  She 
is  worth  serving  for,  for  six  months  or  seven 
years,  as  did  Jacob  of  old,  for  that  matter!" 

"But  what  is  she  afraid  of?"  asked  Davenport. 
"Does  she  expect  to  find  a  man  who  never  loved 
before,  or  one  who  in  his  pleadings  drops  pearls 
from  his  lips  at  every  utterance?" 

"Now,  Davenport,"  replied  Axtell,  "with  your 
hatred  for  woman  and  your  love  for  cynicism,  you 
are  prejudiced  and  unfitted  for  considering  the  posi 
tion  of  the  'bondage/  as  you  have  termed  it,  that 
our  friend  Guy  has  entered  upon.  From  the  facts 
of  the  case,  as  outlined  by  Guy,  I  think  this  young 
woman  is  imbued  with  the  right  idea  of  choosing  a 
husband.  There  is  not  one  of  us  but  has  seen 
numerous  marriages  hastily  entered  upon,  and  in 
which  one,  or  perhaps  both,  of  the  parties  was 
animated  by  base,  selfish  motives,  and  in  which  love 
played  no  part. 

"We  find  a  young  woman  possessing  a  pretty 
face  marrying  some  old  rake- of  a  man  whose  cari 
cature  of  a  face  would  drive  a  smile  from  the 
face  of  a  bronze  Billiken,  simply  because  he  has 
money.  All  her  friends  know  that  she  has  no  love 
for  him,  and  knows  that  she  is  marrying  him  simply 
to  better  her  position  in  the  world ;  in  other  words, 


DISCUSSING  THE  CONTRACT.       223 

sacrificing  all  hope  of  happiness  for  wealth.  If 
Miss  Davidge  has  set  her  ideas  of  genuine  happi 
ness  in  a  marriage  for  love  and  love  only,  and  is 
the  pure,  sweet  girl  described  by  Guy,  I  think  he 
is  to  be  congratulated  in  finding  that  character  of 
a  girl  ready  and  willing  to  put  her  ideas  to  a  test." 

"But  what  can  she  or  any  other  woman,"  asked 
Davenport,  "learn  about  the  genuineness  of  the  love 
a  man  offers  her?  It  is  largely  made  up  of  imagina 
tion  at  the  best.  Woman  is  never  what  man,  pos 
sessed  of  an  infatuation  for  her,  paints  her  to  be. 
She  is  an  angel  always,  and  far  too  good  for  him, 
and  he  is  surprised  to  not  find  wings  sprouting  upon 
any  visit  he  makes  her.  He  is  over  head  and  heels 
in  love,  or  thinks  he  is,  and  what  is  the  difference? 
He  is  more  or  less  a  reprobate,  of  course,  but  she 
doesn't  know  it,  nor  would  she  believe  it  if  told 
the  truth  about  him.  The  more  peccadilloes  that  he 
is  credited  with  having  had  in  his  mad  rush  to  ab 
sorb  all  the  pleasures  of  a  lifetime  in  a  few  years 
of  sowing  the  wind  that  comes  to  her  hearing,  the 
greater  hero  he  becomes  in  her  estimation.  She 
thinks  herself  the  only  paragon  of  perfection  that 
it  has  been  his  fortune  to  meet,  and  that  she  is 
destined  to  reform  him.  If  he  had  been  one  of 
those  goody-goodies,  he  would  not  have  awakened 


224   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

in  her  the  flood  of  hero-worship  that  is  consuming 
her. 

"We  are  all  a  set  of  base  hypocrites,  women  as 
well  as  men.  A  man  possessing  the  reputation  of 
a  'man  of  the  world'  is  more  popular  with  women- 
kind  than  one  who  has  lived  a  clean  life.  A  man 
under  the  influence  of  an  absorbing  infatuation  for 
some  little  bundle  of  deceit,  tells  her  that  he  loves 
her  with  a  consuming  love,  and  such  a  love  as 
was  never  before  awakened,  and  she  is  flattered 
into  believing  it,  and  forthwith  proceeds  to  cul 
tivate  her  love  for  him.  That  is  a  fair  sample  of 
the  matches  that  are  made  in  Heaven  and  dis 
solved  in  the  divorce  court,  because  it  is  largely 
sentiment." 

"Davenport,"  asked  Mr.  Axtell,  "tell  us  whether 
you  believe  in  the  existence  of  love  as  we  under 
stand  it." 

"As  we  understand  it,  is  a  qualifying  term,"  re 
plied  Davenport,  "and  calls  for  an  explanation  of 
what  you  understand  love  to  be." 

"Well,"  said  Axtell,  "my  idea  of  love  is  a  will 
ingness  and  a  desire  to  devote  a  lifetime  of  care 
and  devotion  to  the  woman  awakening  it,  to  shield 
her  from  pain  and  sorrow,  to  nourish  and  protect 
her." 


DISCUSSING  THE  CONTRACT.       225 

"That  is  very  good  as  long  as  it  lasts,"  said 
Davenport;  "but  was  not  that  the  resolve  and  the 
marital  pledge  of  all  those  whose  divorce  court  cases 
fill  the  papers  with  charges  of  infidelity,  abuse  and 
abandonment,  and  are  the  basis  for  the  trite  argu 
ment  that  marriage  is  a  failure?  You  feel  imbued 
with  a  resolve  to  devote  yourself  while  life  lasts 
to  the  protection  of  the  little  angel  whose  wings 
you  were  disappointed  in  not  seeing  sprout.  That 
just  lasts  long  enough  for  you  to  find  that,  after 
all,  she  is  but  human,  with  the  frailties  of  human 
nature,  and  a  virago  in  disposition,  perhaps,  and 
which  you  never  saw  manifest  until  you  had  been 
drawn  into  the  yoke  of  servitude.  You  fall  in  love 
with  a  pretty  face  and  a  semblance  of  amiability, 
only  to  find  the  latter  a  hypocritical  pretence  and 
the  first  a  detestable  allurement;  in  a  word,  you 
are  the  victim  of  sentimentalism." 

"Sentiment,  my  dear  Davenport,"  said  Axtell, 
"enters  not  only  in  the  awakening  as  well  as  the 
after-life  of  love  between  the  sexes,  but  also  be 
tween  men  in  their  friendships.  There  is  no  class 
of  professionals  in  which  sentiment  is  so  played 
upon,  used  and  abused,  as  in  your  profession.  Place 
yourself  before  a  jury  where  the  guilty  defendant, 
whom  you  represent,  has  made  an  ignoble  showing, 


226      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

and  where  the  weight  of  evidence  is  against  him, 
and  who,  more  than  yourself,  now  speaking  in  con 
tempt  of  the  sentiment  often  mistaken  for  love, 
would  resort  to  it  to  meretriciously  gloss  over  mis 
deeds  or  to  make  some  act  artificially  attractive." 

"Not  guilty,"  said  Davenport.  "As  a  lawyer,  I 
demand  facts,  and  depend  upon  facts.  The  law 
does  not  recognize  sentiment.  Truth  is  not  al 
ways  fair,  nor  is  it  always  apparent,  even  when 
stripped  of  its  glamour  and  stands  naked.  Tell  me, 
Guy,  is  the  future  happiness  of  the  young  wife-to- 
be  her  sole  aim?" 

"By  no  means,"  said  Ralph.  "The  lady  has  a 
far  higher  aim  in  her  endeavor,  and  is  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  desire  to  raise  a  better  race  of 
men  and  women  by  an  elimination  of  physical  de 
fects  in  both  sexes,  the  legal  inhibition  of  marriage 
between  two  people,  either  of  whom  may  be  found 
to  be  a  sufferer,  or  a  possible  prospective  sufferer, 
from  ailments  which  may  be  transmitted  to  pos 
terity." 

"There  is  where  you  come  in,  Axtell,"  said 
Davenport,  "for  I  have  heard  you  descant  upon, 
and  decry  against,  the  evils  of  indiscriminate  mar 
riage  between  people  whose  morals  manifest  a  ten- 


DISCUSSING  THE  CONTRACT.      227 

dency  to  criminality  or  depravity  through  parent- 
age." 

"True,"  said  Dr.  Axtell.  "I  have  decried  against 
marriage  without  legal  surveillance  other  than  a 
mere  money  charge  for  the  issuance  of  the  license 
to  wed.  If  the  young  lady  is  an  advocate  of  eugen 
ics,  and  has  entered  upon  a  practical  introduction 
of  the  science,  she  is  deserving  of  much  credit. 
The  world  stands  in  dire  need  of  the  practical  in 
troduction  of  the  principle,  as  it  never  so  badly 
needed  it  before.  Degeneracy  of  the  human  race  is 
fast  manifesting  its  dehumanizing  effect.  Rome  in 
her  day  of  most  demoralising  debauchery,  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  at  a  time  when  they  were  a  stench 
in  the  nostrils  of  the  Lord,  when  He  sent  fire  and 
devastation  upon  them  and  effaced  them  from  the 
earth  because  of  their  inhuman  practices,  were  not 
in  so  low  a  state  of  corruption  and  sin  as  are  many 
of  the  great  cities  of  the  present  day." 

"By  George,  Doctor,"  said  Davenport,  "you  are 
drawing  a  fearful  picture  of  filth  and  depravity." 

"I  know  whereof  I  speak,"  said  Axtell.  "Paris 
is  seething  in  corruption  of  the  lowest  type — the 
Parisian  vice — and  that  vice  has  crossed  the  Eng 
lish  Channel  and  cropped  out  in  the  instance  of 


228   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

the  brilliant  Oscar  Wilde,  and,  making  of  him  a 
moral  outcast,  the  exposure  involving,  as  it  did, 
the  younger  sons  of  Royalty;  and  later  the  Court 
of  Berlin  had  its  exposure,  which  required  all  the 
power  of  Emperor  William  to  keep  the  mass  of 
filthy  corruption  from  boiling  over  and  showing 
the  rottenness  of  the  Berlin  Court.  The  inhabi 
tants  of  one  of  our  largest  Southern  cities,  the  Paris 
of  America,  are  fast  in  the  grip  of  the  Parisian 
vice,  which  shows  itself  in  weak  and  decrepit 
youth  of  both  sexes,  and  moral  degeneracy  is  fast 
undermining  their  constitutions,  sapping  their  lives 
and  leading  them  to  a  premature  grave.  All  our 
large  centres  of  population  are  afflicted  more  or 
less  by  this  demoralising  Parisian  vice,  and  other 
methods  of  debauchery.  There  is  nothing  besides 
a  legal  and  physical  surveillance  of  marriage  that 
will  lift  our  race  out  of  the  weakening  tendency 
of  to-day." 

"Well,  Doctor,"  said  Davenport,  "that  pertains 
to  your  exclusive  field  of  operation.  The  legal  arm 
of  our  civilization  dates  far  back  of  the  Roman 
period,  and  is  largely  based  and  founded  upon  the 
old  English  practice.  You  can't  charge  demoraliza 
tion  or  misplaced  sentimentalism  to  it." 

"And  which,"  said  Axtell,  "has  a  weakness  in 


DISCUSSING  THE  CONTRACT.      229 

the  handling  of  jury  cases  that  is  appalling,  and 
needs  legislation  to  remedy  it.  If  female  suffrage 
will  bring  the  needed  reform,  then  I  am  in  favor  of 
it." 

"To  what  do  you  refer,  Axtell?"  asked  Daven 
port. 

"I  refer  to  the  influence  of  sentiment  in  the  jury 
system.  Where  the  accused  is  a  female  and  pos 
sessing  beauty,  it  is  out  of  reason  to  expect  to  find 
a  jury  of  twelve  men  that  would  convict  her,  not 
withstanding  the  fact  that  the  evidence  may  be 
absolutely  conclusive." 

"How  are  you  intending  to  reform  (the  said 
abuse?"  asked  Davenport. 

"By  adding  women  to  the  trial  panel.  I  would 
divide  the  panel  equally  between  the  sexes,  six  men 
and  six  women.  Sentiment  never  influences  man 
in  his  dealings  with  man,  nor  does  it  enter  into 
the  dealings  between  women.  The  influence  of  sen 
timent  plays  a  far  more  controlling  power  in  the 
execution  of  the  laws  than  it  does  anywhere  else 
except  in  courtship.  Woman  knows  the  deceits  of 
her  sex  more  intimately  than  man  does,  soever  well 
versed  he  may  be  in  woman's  nature.  Miscarriage 
of  justice  under  that  system  would  obtain  but  rare 
ly.  Boys,  I  must  leave  you,  in  order  to  catch  my 


230   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

train.  Good-bye,  and  to  you,  Guy,  I  can't  but  wish 
that  I  knew  the  young  woman  whom  you  are  in 
tending  to  marry.  I  think  she  is  a  very  desirable 
companion,  and  I  congratulate  you  upon  the  pros 
pect  of  obtaining  for  a  wife  a  superior  woman. 
She  evidently  has  a  level  head." 

"Boys,"  said  Davenport,  "here  we  are,  all  law 
yers,  and  each  of  us  have  had  more  or  less  divorce 
cases  in  our  practice,  and  an  exchange  of  confi 
dences  will  hurt  neither  us  nor  our  clients.  The 
number  of  divorces  ground  out  by  the  courts  is 
inveighed  against  from  the  pulpit  and  our  papers, 
but  we,  as  lawyers,  have  opportunities  to  look  be 
hind  the  curtains  in  all  our  cases.  Now,  honestly,  be 
tween  us,  have  either  of  you  had  a  case  in  which 
you  believed,  down  in  your  heart,  that  your  client 
was  in  the  wrong,  except  when  he  was  the  de 
fendant?  I  most  thoroughly  am  in  favor  of  the 
legal  separation  of  a  couple  who  are  unhappily 
mated,  rather  than  a  continuance  of  their  unfor 
tunate  marriage  tie.  I  say  that  as  a  man,  I  am  not 
influenced  by  prospective  fees  as  a  lawyer.  I  have 
never  taken  a  case  or  a  retainer  until  I  have  first 
satisfied  myself  by  either  a  personal  investigation 
or  through  a  detective  agency  upon  whom  I  can 
rely,  that  my  client  is  clean  and  would  stand  well 


DISCUSSING  THE  CONTRACT.      231 

in  court.  I  want  to  ask  your  opinion  about  a  case 
which  I  turned  down  recently,  and  lost  a  fee  rather 
than  assist  a  miserly  old  hag  in  an  effort  to  bleed 
a  very  decent  man  who  was  her  husband.  He  held 
a  job  that  paid  him  a  very  good  salary,  and 
I  imagine  that  he  would  have  been  willing  to  share 
it  with  his  wife  in  payment  of  reasonable  alimony, 
if  he  could  have  gotten  rid  of  her,  had  he  known 
that  she  wanted  a  divorce.  The  O.  H.  had  deeds  to 
some  property  in  her  own  right,  which  came  to  her 
during  her  marriage  with  him,  and  she  had  an 
income  greater  than  that  of  her  husband;  but  her 
greed  for  money  was  simply  a  case  of  insanity. 
They  had  no  children,  and  the  O.  H.  intended  giv 
ing  the  property  to  her  relatives,  although  her 
husband  had  given  her  thousands  of  dollars  of  his 
savings,  all  of  which  went  into  the  property. 

"She  wanted  to  prove  inconstancy  against  her 
husband,  but  she  had  no  proof,  and  she  wanted  me 
to  hire  a  detective  to  secure  evidence  upon  which 
to  base  her  claim.  She  desired  me  also  to  require 
the  husband  to  pay  for  the  detective  and  my  ser 
vices.  The  proposition  rather  disgusted  me  m  the 
beginning  of  the  several  interviews  I  had  with 
her. 

"Through  her  statement  made  to  me,  I  learned 


232   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

that  the  husband  had  severed  himself  from  her  in 
sofar  as  he  could  without  laying  himself  liable  be 
fore  the  law.  He  paid  for  her  room  and  board  in 
the  hotel,  but  he  had  a  separate  room  for  himself. 
He  spent  his  evenings  with  some  intimate  friends 
or  sitting  in  the  parks,  generally  alone.  This  I 
learned  later  by  shadowing  him  for  two  weeks.  His 
habits  were  so  regular  that  it  was  easily  done.  At 
the  hotel  I  learned  that  she  was  so  miserly  mean 
that  the  landlord,  servants  and  boarders  in  the  hotel 
despised  her,  while  they  all  loved  the  husband.  To 
give  you  an  idea  of  the  depth  of  her  niggardly 
meanness,  I  learned  from  her  intimate  friend  that 
she  had  become  filthy  with  head  vermin,  and,  with 
her  thousands  of  dollars  in  bank,  she  was  too 
sordidly  grasping  to  expend  ten  cents  on  a  fine 
comb  with  which  to  rid  herself  of  them,  but  she 
borrowed  one  from  my  informant.  She,  like  all 
misers,  would  steal  from  her  husband  to  swell  her 
bank  account.  Another  of  her  miserly  acts  was 
to  prowl  through  rooms  just  vacated,  and  take 
possession  of  little  bits  of  soap  found  in  the  soap 
dishes  of  those  rooms. 

"I  was  directed  to  her  relative  by  marriage,  and 
learned  from  him  that  she  was  a  born  money-lover, 
and  in  her  days  of  widowhood  it  was  said  she  had 


DISCUSSING  THE  CONTRACT.      233 

robbed  her  sisters  and  brothers  while  handling  the 
estate  of  her  mother,  also  a  widow,  whose  business 
she  transacted.  I  turned  down  the  case  through 
sheer  detestation  of  the  O.  H.  Do  you  think  I  did 
right?" 

"I  certainly  think  you  did,"  said  Ralph. 

"So  do  I,"  said  Miller.  "If  there  is  a  despicable 
trait  in  human  nature,  it  is  penuriousness.  It  is  in 
the  nature  of  its  victims  to  steal  even  from  their  own 
stomachs,  in  order  to  hoard.  It  is  a  wonder  that  the 
husband  in  that  case  didn't  have  her  adjudged  insane 
long  enough  to  recover  his  money  from  her  estate." 

"He  didn't  care  enough  for  money  for  that,  and 
he  so  loathed  her  that  he  wanted  to  forget  that 
she  existed.  There  is  no  doubt  but  I  could  have 
found  cause  to  give  her  a  divorce  on  unfaithfulness, 
if  she  hadn't  made  it  so  apparent  that  it  was  a  case 
of  money-bleeding." 

"I  had  a  case  of  damages,"  said  Miller,  "which, 
after  the  first  interview  with  the  complainant,  I 
thought  was  a  good  case.  The  plaintiff  was  a 
teacher  of  music,  rather  pretty,  and  about  twenty- 
five  years  old.  She  alleged  that  Mr. ,  head  book 
keeper  in  one  of  the  large  insurance  companies, 
had  made  love  to  her  and  proposed  marriage,  and 
was  accepted  and  a  day  set  for  the  wedding;  but 


234   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

before  the  time  arrived,  he  quit  paying  addresses  to 
her  entirely.  I  thought  it  such  a  good  case  that  I 
proceeded  to  draw  up  the  papers,  and  requested  her 
to  formulate  her  evidence  and  to  bring  to  my 
office  any  letters  or  notes  in  her  possession  writ 
ten  by  the  defendant.  Upon  the  occasion  of  one  of 
her  calls,  I  was  just  on  the  point  of  leaving  my 
office  when  she  came  in,  so,  as  soon  as  I  could  ar 
range  my  desk  and  close  it  after  she  departed,  I 
went  out,  and  she  was  just  leaving  the  building. 
Without  suspicioning  her  in  any  way,  I  continued 
to  look  after  her  until  she  crossed  Broadway  and 
joined  a  young  man  at  the  corner  of  Twenty-third 
Street,  who  had  evidently  waited  there  for  her  while 
she  was  in  my  office. 

"I  stood  in  the  doorway  until  they  had  crossed 
Twenty-third  Street  and  passed  down  the  side  of 
the  park,  when  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  young 
man  was  seemingly  very  much  interested  in  what 
she  was  relating  to  him;  so  I  crossed  through  the 
park,  which  I  passed  through  by  a  diagonal  path 
way,  for  I  saw  them  turn  the  corner  into  Madison 
Avenue,  which  they  crossed  and  passed  along  to 
Twenty-fifth  Street,  down  which  they  went  to  Lex 
ington  Avenue,  where  they  entered  the  ladies'  en- 


DISCUSSING  THE  CONTRACT.      235 

trance  of  a  hotel,  the  character  of  which  is  well 
known. 

"I  didn't  want  to  misjudge  her,  nor  did  I  wish  to 
be  duped  into  conducting  a  suit  the  result  of  which 
was  likely  to  have  a  denoument  that  might  reflect 
upon  me,  so  I  entered  the  door  and  waited  until  the 
elevator  returned  to  the  lower  floor,  and  asked  the 
boy  in  it  if  he  knew  the  young  woman  in  the  blue 
dress  that  had  just  gone  up  in  his  elevator.  He 
informed  me  that  he  had  taken  her  up  several  times 
before,  with  the  same  young  man  always.  He  re 
membered  her  because  she  had  a  small  wart  close 
to  the  side  of  her  nose,  but  did  not  know  her  name. 

"Being  satisfied  that  it  would  be  doing  the  de 
fendant  a  harmful  wrong,  and  not  do  me  any  credit 
in  the  prosecution  of  such  a  case,  I  sent  for  the 
bookkeeper  and  asked  him  as  to  what  he  knew 
about  her.  At  first  he  assumed  an  air  of  indigna 
tion,  but  upon  my  assuring  him  that  my  aim  in 
making  the  inquiry  was  for  his  benefit,  he  said  that 
he  knew  her,  had  called  upon  her  eight  or  ten  times 
in  all,  and  having  on  at  least  three  occasions  met  a 
young  man  there,  concluded  that  he  did  not  care  to 
call  any  more,  and  ceased  his  visits  accordingly. 
He  positively  denied  having  proposed  to  her  or  of 


236   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

having  any  thoughts  that  way.  He  thought  her  a 
very  nice  young  lady." 

"I  told  him  what  I  knew,  and  advised  him  to  put 
a  detective  on  her  track  and  be  prepared  for  events. 
Upon  her  next  call  I  informed  her  that  I  declined 
to  have  any  further  connection  with  the  case." 

"Your  action,  I  think,"  said  Ralph,  "was  highly 
commendable.  I  suppose  some  people  might  claim 
that  you  violated  professional  ethics,  but  I  do  not. 
Your  action  was  honorable." 

"I  gave  him  no  information  communicated  to  me 
by  the  plaintiff,  and  as  man  to  man  I  held  that  he 
was  entitled  to  the  warning;  besides,  I  found  him 
a  brother  Mason." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

In  the  evening  preceding  the  day  set  for  the  de 
parture  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guy,  there  were  assembled 
Mona's  parents  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison,  in 
Mona's  little  parlor,  when  the  conversation  turned 
on  the  duties  of  wife  and  mother.  It  was  general, 
and  each  expressed  themselves  on  the  subject  of 
the  duty  of  the  wife  to  help  and  assist  her  husband 
in  whatever  manner  possible.  Mr.  Guy,  senior, 
rather  shocked  the  rest  by  abruptly  saying:  "Woman 
was  made  for  man,  and  was  never  intended  for 
anything  else  than  a  child-bearer.  Go  back,  if  you 
will,  to  the  old  Hebraic  laws,  and  further,  if  you 
will,  to  the  first  woman — Eve — if  she  was  the 
first  (if  you  believe  that  story  of  the  creation,  which 
I  do  not) — and  you  will  find  that  the  man  was  first 
in  everything,  and  woman  was  but  his  help-meet." 

:(:  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  Richter  and  Miss  Stewart  called,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  thereafter  Mrs.  Guy  asked  to  be  ex- 

237 


238   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

cused  to  do  some  packing  of  presents,  saying  that 
she  would  have  no  time  in  the  morning.  The  ladies 
all  expressed  a  desire  to  see  the  presents,  and  re 
tired  to  Mona's  bed-chamber  for  that  purpose. 

A  general  conversation  arose  between  the  men 
when  left  alone,  and  a  remark  dropped  by  Mr. 
Richter  relevant  to  not  understanding  woman 
nature  very  well,  elicited  the  inquiry  from  Mr.  Guy 
as  to  "who  does;  a  woman  is  too  erratic  and 
changeable  to  be  understood  by  anyone." 

Mr.  Davidge  said :  "I  have  found  women  so  reck 
less  in  the  use  of  truth  generally  that  I  almost  des 
pair  when  I  have  a  woman  for  a  witness  for  my 
client.  They  are  utterly  indifferent  to,  or  cannot 
comprehend  the  difference  between,  that  which  they 
have  heard  and  that  which  they  know  on  the  subject, 
swearing  to,  as  facts,  anything  they  think  or  have 
heard." 

"I  read,"  said  Ralph,  "a  dissertation  on  woman's 
character  in  general,  and  the  question  was  pro 
pounded  in  it,  What  is  woman's  chief  and  most  at 
tractive  virtue  or  charm?  I  confess  that  the  sub 
ject  was  a  complex  one  to  me,  having  so  many  sides 
that  reflect  woman  in  so  many  phases,  that  I  was 
completely  at  sea." 

"Well,"  said  the  senior  Guy,  "I  hold  that  the 


WOMAN'S  DUTIES.  239 

original  design  of  woman  was  to  be  a  child-bearer, 
and  if  she  is  a  failure  in  that  capacity,  she  is  not 
capable  of  being  a  wife.  The  Spartans,  in  their 
day  of  greatness,  selected  their  wives  along  that 
line  alone,  and  one  who  was  incompetent  in  that 
respect,  or  if  proved  to  be  so  after  marriage,  was 
set  aside  legally,  and  I  think  they  had  the  right 
idea;  therefore,  woman  was  originally  intended  to 
be  a  child-bearer." 

"There  is  no  doubt,"  said  Mr.  Davidge,  "that 
nature  intended  woman,  when  she  was  first  created, 
as  a  child-bearer  to  populate  the  earth,  and  before 
fashion  and  pride  took  possession  of  her  life,  she 
realized  her  duty  to  mankind,  and  large  families 
were  the  rule.  That  which  constitutes  woman's 
chief  charm  is  entirely  another  matter.  From  the 
standpoint  of  a  glutton,  her  qualities  as  a  cook 
would  appeal  to  man." 

"Whatever  woman  was  designed  for  when  cre 
ated,"  said  Ralph,  "she  has  long  since  departed 
from  it.  I  think  woman's  first  duty  is  devotion  to 
her  husband  and  children,  if  she  has  any  children. 
If  she  has  none,  then  her  husband  and  home  is  her 
first  duty." 

"What  do  you  think,  Doctor?"  urged  Mr. 
Davidge,  with  a  smile  on  his  lips. 


240   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Undoubtedly  to  minister  to  man.  As  to  what 
constitutes  her  chief  charm,  wifely  duty  in  its  broad 
sense,  cooking,  darning,  sewing  and  housekeeping 
in  general,"  said  the  minister. 

The  ladies,  returning,  put  an  abrupt  ending  to 
the  discussion.  Mona  thought  she  observed  an 
atmosphere  of  secrecy,  and  that  their  coming  had 
cut  into  something  important,  so  she  said,  "What 
have  you  lords  of  creation  been  doing  or  saying 
while  we  were  away.  What  was  it,  papa?" 

Thus  appealed  to,  Mr.  Davidge  said:  "We  were 
inquiring  what  woman's  chief  charm  is." 

"Pray  tell  us  what  you  four  voted  on  the  sub 
ject.  I  am  curious  to  know,  as,  no  doubt,  are 
the  rest  of  the  ladies." 

Mr.  Davidge  laughingly  said:  "Housewifely 
duties,  darning,  sewing,  maternity,  devotion  to  her 
husband,  and  home  in  general,  especially  reaching 
our  hearts  by  way  of  our  stomachs." 

"You, know,"  said  Mona,  "the  old  proverb,  'Wo 
man's  chief  end  is  man.'  I  have  a  different  version : 
woman's  chief  end  is  disappointment  in  man,  and 
imprisonment  within  four  walls.  I  think  it  was 
truly  ungallant  in  discussing  us  in  our  absence.  We 
will  be  more  brave  and  generous,  for  we  will  give 


WOMAN'S  DUTIES.  241 

you  an  opportunity  for  defense.  Now,  ladies,  tell 
us  what  is  man's  chief  charm?" 

The  ladies  were  silent  until  Mrs.  Davidge  said: 
"I  think  that  women  hold  as  a  rule  that  man's 
chief  charm  is  the  giving  to  her  of  an  ample  sum 
with  which  to  bear  all  expenses,  and  not  to  ques 
tion  her  as  to  how  she  disposes  of  it." 

"But  what  way,  mama,"  asked  Mona,  "have 
we  of  estimating  the  charm  of  the  man  before 
marriage?  Is  it  in  his  willingness  to  treat  us  to 
sodas  and  creams,  opera  tickets  and  anniversary 
presents  ?  From  what  I  learn  from  my  girl  friends, 
young  men  treat  them  to  sophistry  and  flattery 
before  marriage.  Since  sophistry  is  false  reason 
ing,  then  deception  is  the  first  chief  effort  of  man's 
adulation.  Flattery  nearly  always  wins  a  girl  who 
wishes  to  believe  herself  charming  and  beautiful, 
even  though  she  is  told  things  which  her  better 
sense  tells  her  are  not  so. 

"Flattery  only  pertains  to  the  ante-marriage  pe 
riod.  After  marriage,  it  is  a  forgotten  art  The 
average  young  woman  is  taught  tact  as  a  foil  to 
man's  flattery.  Both  are  deceptions,  and  certain 
to  cause  an  awakening  after  marriage  that  is  dis 
appointing. 


242      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Man's  chief  charm  should  be  generosity,  kindli 
ness  and  devotion. 

"A  generous  man  must  naturally  be  a  just  man, 
and  one  with  love  of  justice  anchored  in  his  soul 
would  be  kind  and  devoted. 

"Being  generous  must  not  be  accepted  as  mere 
generosity  in  money  matters,  as  mama,  says,  for 
a  woman's  soul  could  starve  to  death  for  the  want 
of  love,  even  though  millions  were  at  her  call.  A 
husband  should  counsel  and  advise  with,  and  yield 
to,  a  wifely  opinion  sometimes. 

"Being  kindly  does  not  mean  that  he  abstain 
from  administering  corporal  punishment.  It  should 
mean  that  sympathy  and  love  were  always  manifest, 
and  lending  a  helping  hand  generously  at  all  times. 

"Devotion  is  not  merely  spending  all  a  husband's 
time  not  devoted  to  business  at  his  home,  but  natur 
ally  includes  a  willingness  to  devote  some  of  the 
hours  to  taking  his  wife  and  family  to  places  of 
amusement  where,  for  the  time  being,  home  cares 
are  forgotten  and  the  lines  of  worry  are  tempor 
arily  effaced  by  happy  thoughts  and  laughter." 

"The  return  of  you  ladies,"  Mr.  Davidge  said, 
"cut  off  Mr.  Richter  from  giving  his  opinion  as 
to  what  is  woman's  chief  charm,  and  perhaps  he 
will  favor  us  with  it  now." 


WOMAN'S  DUTIES.  243 

Mr.  Richter's  face  flushed  perceptibly,  and  he 
looked  appealingly  at  Mona,  who  said: 

"By  all  means,  Mr.  Richter,  give  us  your  version 
of  us.  I  imagine  that  our  ability  to  darn,  patch, 
and  sew  would  appeal  to  you,  because  of  your  bach 
elorhood." 

"I  should  think,"  said  Mr.  Richter,  "that  woman's 
chief  charm  was  amiability,  which  has  a  charm  that 
is  always  manifest  on  her  face  and  in  her  demeanor, 
when  it  exists.  A  woman  endowed  with  amiability 
would  give  to  her  husband  a  spiritual  love  that  is 
so  far  above  and  superior  to  the  coarse  animal  love 
of  man  that  his  soul  must  be  refined  and  purified 
by  the  daily  and  hourly  contact." 

"Capital,"  said  Mrs.  Davidge;  and  Miss  Stewart 
said,  with  an  audible  sigh,  "How  charmingly  ex 
pressed  !" 

Mr.  Davidge  said :  "You  don't  find  that  class 
leading  the  butterfly  life." 

Mona  was  silent,  but  looked  gratitude  toward 
Richter.  Ralph,  watching  her,  saw  the  expression 
and  divined  its  meaning. 

"There  would  be  less  of  the  butterfly  life,"  said 
Mona,  "if  husbands  made  more  of  their  homes 
and  less  of  their  clubs.  Woman  left  alone  day  and 
evening,  becomes  less  and  less  devoted  to  her  bus- 


244   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

banad  and  her  home,  and  seeks  diversion  from  her 
thoughts  and  the  monotony  of  her  home  life.  After 
the  novelty  of  married  life  is  worn  off  with  man, 
he  uses  his  home  merely  as  a  place  to  sleep  and 
sometimes  to  eat  in. 

"Statistics  inform  us  that  insanity  amongst  the 
farmers'  wives  is  largely  on  the  increase  because 
of  their  monotonous  drudgery.  The  average  far 
mer  spends  more  time  with  his  stock  than  he  does 
with  his  wife.  After  filling  his  stomach,  he  stretches 
himself  on  the  lounge  and  snores  the  evening  away, 
while  the  poor  wife,  who  has  worked  hard  and 
alone  all  day  in  the  house  since  early  breakfast,  is 
engaged  patching  or  making  coarse  clothes,  darn 
ing  stockings  or  sewing  carpet-rags;  sewing  her 
disappointment  of  life  stitch  by  stitch  in  silence, 
while  her  husband  is  snoring  the  hours  away  until 
it  is  time  to  go  to  bed.  She  has  scarcely  had  a 
word  with  her  husband  or  anybody  else  since  early 
break  of  day.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  far 
mers'  wives  lose  their  reason?"  asked  Mona. 

Mrs.  Guy  raised  her  voice  and  said:  "True!  Too 
true,  every  word  of  it!"  and  the  elder  Guy  looked 
his  surprise  at  her  temerity. 

Dr.  Morrison  had  been  silent  a  long  time  for 
him,  when  he  said,  in  an  approving  way:  "Mona, 


WOMAN'S  DUTIES.  245 

I  think  that  the  'butterfly  life'  of  which  you  spoke 
is  to  a  very  large  extent  the  echo  of  men's  absent 
ing  themselves  from  their  homes  and  leaving  the 
wife  to  find  such  diversion  as  she  can,  separate  and 
apart  from  her  husband  and  her  home.  I  think,  too, 
that  worse  evils  than  whist  clubs  are  among  the 
results  of  man's  neglect  of  his  home." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  young  man  that  the  Circle  had  engaged  was 
a  German,  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  hatred  of 
royalty  and  wealth,  and  with  the  belief  that  the 
wealth  of  the  rich  belonged  to  the  whole  people; 
that  it  was  wrung  from  the  poor  by  unequal  taxa 
tion.  He  was  an  Anarchist  of  the  German  stamp, 
believing  that  the  rich  pitted  the  poor  against  the 
poor,  and  profited  by  the  bitter  and  unequal  strug 
gle  for  a  common  living.  His  overpowering  thought 
when  he  entered  the  country  was  that  there  should 
be  a  division  of  this  greatly  hoarded  wealth.  He 
looked  upon  the  police  as  the  instruments  through 
which  this  grinding  of  the  poor  was  effected;  that 
they  represented  the  rich  man's  power,  and  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  do  what  he  could  to  undermine 
that  influence.  He  had  seen  his  father's  little  hold 
ing  in  land  taxed  until  there  was  nothing  left  for 

246 


AN  ANARCHIST  MEETING.         247 

the  family  maintenance,  and  when  his  eye  rested 
upon  one  of  the  slick  and  well-dressed  policemen, 
his  blood  boiled  within  his  brain. 

While  at  the  university  in  Germany,  while  yet  but 
a  youth,  he  had  been  led  to  believe  that  royalty,  with 
all  its  rich  trappery,  had  to  be  supported  in  its 
profligate  living  by  the  peasantry  and  the  working- 
men  and  working-women.  He  had  read  and  studied 
Anarchism,  and  firmly  believed  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  slay  and  burn,  as  the  panacea  of  all  the  ills  that 
the  Fatherland  suffered  from,  and  when  he  saw 
the  great  rich  palaces,  his  hope  was  that  when  the 
time  came  that  it  might  be  his  hand  that  held  the 
torch  and  started  the  flame  that  would  burn  and 
destroy  royalty. 

Such  breedings  while  at  school  could  but  crys 
tallize  into  red-hot  Anarchism,  and  the  hate  then 
engendered  permeated  his  whole  being  when  he  took 
shipping  at  Hamburg  for  his  new  home  in  America. 

He  had  not  yet  debarked  when  he  saw  the  clean, 
blue  uniform  of  a  policeman  wearing  white  gloves  on 
the  dock,  engaged  in  ordering  and  pushing  the 
crowd  around,  and  he  immediately  associated  the 
wearer  with  the  hated  royalty,  and  consequently 
he  hated  him  with  the  same  intensity. 

That  feeling  never  abated,  and  when  he  came  in 


248      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

contact  with  policemen  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
he  repressed  his  feelings. 

Saturday  night  on  the  Bowery  shows  a  seething 
mass  of  the  under  strata  of  New  York ;  the  saloons 
are  a  hive  of  noisy-mouthed  and  intoxicated  lower 
humanity,  and  are  the  haven  of  the  recently-landed 
seamen,  intermixed  with  the  American  sailor,  with 
his  flowing  trousers  flapping  around  his  feet.  The 
sidewalks  are  a  surging  crowd  of  people,  includ 
ing  the  common  and  debauched  female,  with  dis 
hevelled  hair,  torn  and  soiled  dress,  and  scarred  face. 
She,  too,  reeling  along  under  a  far  too  heavy  load 
of  intoxicants. 

It  is  then  that  evil  emerges  from  its  haunts  and 
has  its  wicked  sway.  The  thief  and  the  thug  who 
frequent  the  lowest  dives  in  that  notoriously  bad  sec 
tion  are  there  watching  for  the  victims,  and  who 
may,  by  a  wink,  invoke  the  assistance  of  the  un 
principled  bartender  to  drug  the  last  drink  of  the 
intended  and  already  befuddled  victim,  giving  their 
aid  to  the  fearsome  harvest  of  the  designing  and 
pretended  friend,  knowing  well  that  the  haul  will 
reach  the  coffers  of  the  dive.  The  poor  victim  is 
led  reeling  from  the  saloon.  A  gaping  dark  hallway 
invites  security  from  the  passing  throng,  and  into 
which  he  is  resistlessly  led,  helpless  and  stupefied. 


AN  ANARCHIST  MEETING.         249 

His  last  and  drug-laden  drink  is  fast  gaining  its 
deadening  sway,  and  therein  he  is  robbed  of  his 
last  cent  and  left  to  be  later  stumbled  over  by  an 
incoming  occupant  of  the  house.  The  poor  victim 
is  turned  over  to  the  police. 

In  a  saloon,  on  the  corner  of  a  street  leading 
from  the  Bowery  into  Chinatown,  were  seated  a 
quartette  of  beer-drinkers,  listening  to  the  fiery  talk 
of  our  newly-made  acquaintance,  Marks,  and  with 
him  was  Strauss,  of  the  Socialist  Circle  Eleven. 
They  were  all  interested  in  the  tirade  that  Marks 
was  pouring  out  against  the  Circle  and  Socialists 
in  general.  "Your  doctrine  is  wishy-washy,  and 
fit  only  for  women  and  children.  You  so-called 
Socialists  are  but  the  willing  dupes  of  the  profligate 
and  grinding  rich.  Your  toleration  not  only  en 
courages  but  invites  them  to  press  on  your  necks 
the  heel  of  adversity  all  the  harder,  while  you  are 
wasting  your  time  and  energy  in  feeding  your  milk- 
and-water  to  weaklings.  If  you  had  but  half  the 
courage  that  you  have  windy  oratory,  you  would  be 
up  and  doing  something  with  your  great  numbers. 
If  you  concentrate  your  strength,  and  apply  the 
torch  and  sword,  you  might  hope  to  accomplish 
something.  You  know  that  you  can  depend  upon 
every  one  of  us  to  the  last  drop  of  blood  that  is 


250   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

in  us.  But  no,  you  are  a  set  of  cowards  that  make 
money  out  of  the  misguided  young  students  who 
pay  you  to  teach  them  trash,  arrant  trash. 

"The  multi-rich  own  you  body  and  soul,  and  you 
stand  before  them  with  your  hat  in  your  hand,  and 
why?  Because  you  worship  riches  howsoever  got 
ten.  Their  dishonest  millions  give  them  power. 
They  rule  your  Governors  and  your  Mayors  and 
own  your  police,  who  dare  not  refuse  to  do  their 
bidding  for  fear  of  their  job.  They  bribe  you  to 
cheat  your  rotten  Government  by  false  weights  and 
false  labels  in  your  Custom  Houses,  and  your  laws 
can't  touch  them.  The  law  can  touch  you,  though, 
as  soon  as  you  run  up  against  it  in  giving  utterance 
to  the  patriotic  principles  of  Socialism,  and  the  next 
day  will  find  you  on  the  rock-pile,  breaking  stones 
for  road-ways  for  the  auto-fiends  to  speed  on  and 
to  run  down  the  poor  pedestrian.  Out  on  your 
Socialists  in  America!  They  are  but  wind-bags  and 
braggarts.  There  isn't  one  of  your  whole  gang  that 
would  go  to  prison  and  suffer  for  principle  as  we 
have  done  in  Germany  and  Russia.  You  know  that 
you  would  have  to  give  up  your  feather-beds  and 
sleep  on  boards.  Instead  of  Socialist  blood  that  is 
coursing  through  your  veins,  it  is  servile  blood,  and 
you  willingly  bend  your  back  to  the  burdens  of  the 


AN  ANARCHIST  MEETING.         251 

owners  of  ill-gotten  wealth,  whose  right  place  is 
behind  the  bars,  with  stripes  covering  their  lazy 
bodies." 

A  row  was  started  over  at  the  bar,  and  soon  the 
shuffling  of  feet  and  loud  cursing  attracted  the 
attention  of  every  one  in  the  saloon  except  Marks, 
who  was  entirely  sober,  and  cared  not  for  a  bar 
room  row.  The  bar-tender  and  his  free-drink  heel 
ers  were  busy  putting  the  fighters  out  of  the  saloon, 
and  the  fight  was  continued  on  the  side-walk.  Still 
Marks  sat  unmoved  by  the  turmoil.  But  the  cry 
of  the  crowd  near  the  door  "Here  come  the  cops!" 
electrified  Marks,  and  he  was  at  the  door  in  an  in 
stant,  pushing  his  way  out  of  the  dense  mass  crowd 
ing  the  doorway.  He  arrived  at  the  side-walk  just 
as  a  policeman  was  pushing  his  way  into  the  crowd 
where  the  fighters  were  engaged  in  its  midst.  The 
on-lookers  resented  the  right  of  the  police  to  stop 
the  fight,  and  interposed  as  much  of  the  solid  mass 
as  they  could  between  him  and  the  swaying  fight 
ers.  The  policeman  was  reinforced  by  another,  in 
response  to  his  whistle.  With  the  force  of  their 
combined  onrush,  they  succeeded  in  gaining  the 
centre,  and  each  took  hold  of  the  combatants  and 
pulled  them  apart,  using  their  clubs  to  beat  back 
the  crowd.  The  crowd  was  not  to  be  easily  dis- 


252   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

persed,  however,  even  when  the  fight  was  stopped. 
It  set  upon  the  nearest  policeman  having  hold  of 
his  prisoner,  and  soon  had  him  down  and  were  vig 
orously  kicking  and  pounding  him,  when,  out  of 
the  midst  of  the  surging  crowd,  arose  the  cry, 
"Down  with  the  police!"  "Down  with  the  Law!" 
The  cry,  "Down  with  the  Law!"  was  taken  up  by 
the  maddened  mob,  and  a  rush  was  made  for  the 
other  policeman,  who  held  to  his  bleeding  prisoner. 

The  policeman  heard  the  cry,  and  knew  well  what 
to  expect,  so  he  blew  a  double  blast  of  his  whistle, 
just  as  the  crowd  attacked  him  in  its  maddened  fury, 
tearing  the  prisoner  from  his  grasp  and  attacking 
him  viciously. 

The  crowd  was  upon  him,  pulling  and  knocking 
him  with  all  its  fury,  and  he  was  hurled  to  the 
ground,  receiving  kicks  and  blows  all  over  his  body, 
the  kicks  from  coarse  boots  mainly  directed  at 
his  head  and  ribs. 

His  prisoner  having  been  torn  loose  from  him, 
he  shifted  his  club  to  his  left  hand  and  pulled  his 
revolver,  using  it  to  club  the  heads  within  reach  of 
him  with  no  tender  care,  and  soon  he  was  getting  the 
better  of  the  situation  when  there  was  a  cry  right 
in  front  of  him,  "Down  with  the  police!"  and  with 
a  vicious  blow  with  the  butt  of  his  revolver,  the 


AN  ANARCHIST  MEETING.         253 

head  disappeared,  and  its  noisy  owner  went  down 
without  a  groan.  Just  at  this  juncture  the  reserves 
arrived,  and  the  crowd  melted  away  before  the 
wedge-drive  of  a  dozen  sturdy  blue-coats. 

There  were  two  men  on  the  ground,  one  trying 
to  arise  and  one  seemingly  dead. 

A  call  for  an  ambulance  brought  one  from  a 
nearby  hospital,  and  the  wounded  were  placed 
therein,  including  one  of  the  ragged  and  exhausted 
policeman,  and  they  were  hurried  to  the  hospital, 
and  soon  lost  to  sight  from  the  crowd  that  follows 
the  ambulance  on  these  occasions. 

The  one  man  was  found  to  be  still  unconscious 
when  placed  upon  the  table  in  the  operating  room. 
He  was  of  medium  height,  stoutly  built,  brown  hair 
and  of  fair  complexion,  and  small  whiskers  cov 
ering  his  chin.  Upon  searching  him,  there  were 
found  some  pamphlets  on  Socialism,  a  knife  of 
dirk  shape,  and  a  few  cents  in  money. 

They  found  a  severe  fracture  of  the  skull  at  the 
base  of  the  brain  and  a  huge  bump  on  the  top  of 
his  head.  There  was  nothing  to  indicate  who  he 
was.  The  man's  skull  was  unusually  thin,  and 
where  his  head  had  come  in  contact  with  the  street 
it  had  splintered  and  was  seemingly  crushed  in. 


254   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

He  remained  in  a  comatose  state  until  the  next  day 
noon,  when  they  pronounced  him  dead. 

The  other  victim  of  the  vicious,  though  just, 
blows  of  the  revolver,  was  recovered  sufficiently  to 
be  turned  over  to  the  police  authorities. 

When  the  dead  rioter  was  placed  in  the  Morgue, 
there  was  the  usual  crowd  of  morbidly  curious  push 
ing  in  to  see  the  corpse,  and  amongst  them  was  the 
young  seamstress  of  the  Bowery  boarding  house, 
attracted  by  the  description  of  the  wounded  man  as 
published  in  the  morning  papers,  coupled  with  the 
fact  that  Marks  had  not  been  to  his  boarding  house 
during  the  night.  At  one  glance  she  recognized  the 
boarder  in  the  corpse,  and  informed  the  policeman 
in  attendance  of  as  much  of  the  history  of  him  as 
she  knew. 

The  policeman  dutifully  made  note  of  the  ad 
dress,  name,  etc.,  and  forthwith  telephoned  the  sta 
tion.  Immediately  an  officer  was  sent  to  the  address 
given,  where  they  found  ample  evidence  to  show 
the  deceased  to  be  an  Anarchist,  judging  from  the 
literature  found  therein. 

The  Coroner  found  a  verdict  that  the  man  met 
his  death  by  a  fall  in  contact  with  the  street  while 
assailing  a  policeman  in  the  proper  discharge  of 
his  duty. 


AN  ANARCHIST  MEETING.         255 

The  Monday  morning  papers  disposed  of  the 
blotting-out  of  a  life  by  briefly  stating  that  Max 
Marks,  an  avowed  Anarchist,  met  his  death  on 
Sunday,  as  a  result  of  his  pernicious  principles  and 
an  active  participation  in  a  riot  started  in  a  bar 
room  fight  down  on  the  Bowery.  "It  is  said  that 
he  died  shouting,  'Down  with  the  Law !'  while  charg 
ing  upon  a  policeman  who  was  making  an  arrest 
of  some  drunken  fighters  in  whom  Marks  had  no 
interest,  and  with  whom  he  had  no  acquaintance. 
Anarchism  thinks  that  its  field  of  action  is  to  antag 
onize  the  Law  and  particularly  the  police,  who  repre 
sent  law  and  order  in  our  city  on  every  occasion." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

In  the  morning,  when  Mr.  Guy  was  about  to  de 
part,  he  took  Mona  by  the  hand  and  said  to  her: 
"Young  lady,  Mrs.  Guy  and  I  want  to  thank  you 
for  a  very  delightful  visit  and  intellectual  enter 
tainment.  I  like  you,  and  hope  to  have  you  visit 
my  home  as  Ralph's  wife;  and  I  assure  you  of 
hospitable  entertainment.  In  your  voyage  of  dis 
covery,  for  I  understand  that  this  few  months' 
life  together  is  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  learn 
whether  you  can  and  do  love  my  son,  I  hope  you 
will  safely  sail  over  peaceful  waters,  and  land  in 
the  harbor  of  connubial  bliss,  and,  as  the  novelists 
say,  'Ever  live  happy  thereafter/  Ralph  is  not  a 
bad  fellow,  and  will  treat  you  well,  or  he  is  not 
like  his  father." 

"I  am  not  afraid  that  Ralph  will  not  treat  me 
right.  I  first  want  to  know  my  own  heart,  and 
whether  it  will  be  treating  him  and  it  right  if  I 

266 


MONA  REFLECTING.  257 

married  him.  Marriage  is  fraught  with  so  many 
dangers  and  mishaps  that  I  must  know  that  my 
love  is  genuine  and  real  before  I  pledge  myself  to 
any  man.  I  must  know  that  I  can  endure  uncom 
plainingly  any  disappointments  later  found  in  my 
husband's  nature.  I  do  not  look  for  perfection  in 
the  man  I  marry,  but  if  my  love  is  not  real,  the 
idiosyncrasies  later  found  in  his  nature  would  per 
haps  be  unendurable  to  me.  I  must  find  my  love 
so  thoroughly  anchored  in  my  nature  that  even  his 
weaknesses,  flaws  in  his  character,  as  it  were,  will 
become  dear  to  me,  like  the  fond  mother  with  her 
crippled  or  invalid  offspring  to  whom  she  must 
minister  through  life,  its  very  deformity  becoming 
a  part  of  her  life  and  soul." 

"Oh,  well,  that  will  grow  with  years  of  married 
life;  do  not  fear.  Does  he  feed  you  well?" 

"I  do  the  marketing,  and  it  is  a  poor  provider 
who  does  not  cater  to  her  own  tastes." 

Mrs.  Guy  embraced  Mona  with  evidences  of  real 
affection,  uttering  not  a  word  and  leaving  her  in 
silence  that  was  radiant  with  feeling. 

When  left  alone,  Mona  sat  down,  and,  resting 
her  head  against  a  cushion,  with  her  eyes  closed, 
began  to  ruminate.  She  constantly,  of  late,  found 
herself  contrasting  Ralph's  nature  as  it  was  un- 


258   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

folded  to  her,  with  what  little  she  had  seen  of 
Richter's.  Ralph  a  decided  agnostic;  a  cynic,  ap 
parently;  and  the  conviction  was  forcing  itself  upon 
her  that  his  original  interest  in  her  was  animated 
by  a  desire  to  advance  his  worldly  interests  by  a 
business  association  with  her  father. 

She  had  noticed,  too,  that  he  had  already  assumed 
the  air  of  rve-caught-the-car-and-my-hurry-is- 
over  style  of  home  life,  so  common  to  men  after 
marriage,  and  her  nature  rebelled  against  this  mani 
festing  itself  so  soon  after  his  ardent  protestations 
of  love.  The  kaleidoscope  of  his  characteristics 
were  now  revealing  themselves,  and  slowly  wash 
ing  away  the  foundation  of  their  hopes  of  union, 
and  the  fabric  seemed  destined  sooner  or  later  to 
collapse.  Richter's  gentleness  of  nature  had  made 
a  deep  impression  on  her;  his  habitual  unobtru- 
siveness,  his  manliness  in  severing  himself  from  an 
association  of  seventeen  years'  standing — his  living, 
as  it  were — and  last,  but  not  least,  his  estimate  of 
the  ideal  woman.  Evidently  the  woman  of  his 
heart-picture  or  heart-desire  all  forced  itself  before 
Mona,  and  her  mind  kept  suggesting  the  contrast  of 
the  two  men  and  their  natures,  not  favorable  to 
Ralph. 

Mona's  way  of  reasoning  kept  suggesting  to  her : 


MONA  REFLECTING.  259 

"If  you  see  the  disagreeable  features  of  Ralph's 
character  now,  and  they  are  repugnant  to  you  dur 
ing  the  glamour  of  a  sympathetic  love,  what  will  they 
be  if  your  soul  love  never  takes  possession  of  you? 
Could  you  endure  throughout  life  as  his  partner? 
Are  there  other  features  of  his  character  not  yet 
disclosed  to  you  that  may  be  abhorrent?  If  you 
had  known  him  eight  weeks  ago  as  now,  would 
you  have  thought  it  necessary  to  spend  the  time 
studying  him,  or  would  you  then  have  entertained 
a  doubt  as  to  whether  you  did,  would,  or  could  love 
him?" 

Left  alone  to  herself,  Mona's  mind  took  up  a 
review  of  events  just  enacted.  Ralph's  grumpy  de 
meanor  during  the  evening,  and  his  very  unusual 
display  of  affection  and  attention  during  the  break 
fast  just  finished,  convinced  Mona  that  his  dispo 
sition,  heretofore  held  under  leash,  was  at  least 
capricious  and  might  be  brutal  when  he  held  the 
mastery.  His  change  overnight  from  one  extreme 
to  the  other  indicated  that  he  realized  that  he  had 
made  a  mistake,  and  had  temporarily  showed  his 
true  nature,  like  unto  an  actor  forgetting  his  lines. 
All  this  passed  through  Mona's  mind  during  and 
after  the  morning  meal.  Did  sorrow  or  gladness 
fill  her  heart?  To  know  that  she  had  found  an 


260   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

uncongenial  companion,  or  glad  that  she  had  car 
ried  out  her  design  of  entering  into  a  temporary 
study,  before  casting  her  lot  permanently  with  a 
man  whom  she  then  believed  entertained  a  love  for 
her,  and  whom  she  also  believed  she  did  and  could 
love? 

She  recalled  the  declaration  some  person  had 
uttered  in  her  presence,  or  that  she  had  perhaps 
read  somewhere,  that  a  person  possessed  of  a  dim 
pled  chin  was  not  to  be  trusted,  because  of  a  deceit 
ful  disposition.  Was  she  experiencing  a  confirma 
tion  of  its  truthfulness? 

Mona's  self-reliant  nature  stood  her  in  good  part 
during  this  test  of  study,  and,  unlike  her  sisters  of 
society,  she  did  not  find  the  need  of  talking  her 
affairs  over  with  others.  The  battle  was  her  own, 
and  confidences  could  not  help  her  in  the  forming 
of  an  opinion  that  would  lead  her  to  a  decision 
affecting  herself  alone.  A  pioneer  in  the  effort  to 
establish  a  cult  for  the  betterment  of  womankind, 
the  thought  of  dividing  the  responsibility  between 

herself   and   friends   did   not  occur  to  her.     The 

-•' 

course  she  was  pursuing  was  as  plain  to  her  as  is 
the  blazed  trail  of  the  woodman  through  the  wil 
derness.  She  must  be  true  to  herself,  for  the  sake 
of  her  future  happiness,  and  just  to  Ralph  for  the 


MONA  REFLECTING.  261 

reason  that  her  sense  of  honor  demanded  justice 
to  him,  irrespective  of  her  own  rights  in  the  prem 
ises. 

Feeling  as  she  did  at  this  moment,  she  realized 
that  it  would  be  dishonorable  if  she  did  otherwise 
than  decide  the  question  that  meant  so  much  to  both 
of  them,  by  purging  it  of  sentiment.  Although 
Ralph  was  insistent  upon  her  cutting  short  the  test 
by  terminating  the  contract  in  an  immediate  mar 
riage,  she  knew  that  she  would  be  doing  him  harm, 
because  her  love  fell  far  short  of  that  which  she  felt 
love  for  a  husband  should  be. 

If  she  were  to  marry  him  now,  could  she  con 
scientiously  promise  to  love  and  honor  him?  She 
did  not  at  present  love  him  as  she  felt  that  she 
ought  to  love  the  man  whose  name  she  would  take. 
The  love  that  she  would  have  to  promise  him  might 
never  grow,  and  that  would  mean  that  she  de 
faulted  in  her  promise.  If  it  did  not  exist  now, 
would  it  ever? 

While  she  was  thus  mentally  weighing  her  duty 
to  herself  and  Ralph,  Bess  and  her  cousin,  Mr. 
Duvall,  a  young  man  from  Newark,  N.  J.,  were 
ushered  in,  and  it  was  evident  from  his  preoccupied 
mental  attitude  during  Bess's  gushing  chortle,  that 
the  young  man  had  heard  much  of  Mona  as  a  hero- 


262   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

ine  greater  than  Joan  of  Arc,  for  he  gazed  at  Mona 
in  an  aspect  of  awe. 

When  Bess's  flow  of  little  nothings  had  sub 
sided,  Mona  turned  her  attention  to  Mr.  Duvall,  and 
said :  "Mr.  Duvall,  I  feel  that  I  almost  know  you  as 
a  friend,  from  hearing  Bessie  speak  so  often  and 
so  flatteringly  of  you." 

"Indeed,  Miss  Davidge,  I  feel  much  flattered, 
for  I  did  not  think  Cousin  Bess  acknowledged  the 
existence  of  more  than  one  person  of  worth  on  this 
hemisphere,  and  that  one  yourself.  If  her  subject 
had  not  proved  such  an  interesting  one,  I  fear  we 
would  have  tired  of  it,  but,  to  the  contrary,  we 
sought  to  know  more  of  you,  and  to  that  end  I 
have  looked  forward  with  greater  interest  than 
usual  to  this  hour  of  meeting  you.  Aunt  Mar 
garet,  too,  never  tires  of  the  subject  of  the  model 
she  wishes  so  much  that  her  daughter,  my  giddy 
cousin,  should  emulate." 

"That  is  all  very  pleasant,  Mr.  Duvall,  and  I  feel 
very  much  flattered.  Bess's  heart  is  always  kind 
and  sympathetic,  and  her  radiant  spirits  are  always 
helpful  when  one  is  depressed." 

"She  has  sung  your  praises  so  beautifully  when 
in  Newark,  that  there  is  quite  a  growing  sentiment 
amongst  the  young  ladies  in  favor  of  your  cult, 


MONA  REFLECTING.  263 

and  if  you  would  visit  that  city,  I  can  assure  you 
of  a  hearty  reception.  The  young  ladies  think 
your  course  a  very  wise  one,  and  worthy  of  copy 
ing  and  putting  to  a  practical  test.  Discussion  of 
it  has  put  the  young  men  to  thinking  favorably  of 
it,  too,  for  they  fully  realize  the  importance  of  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  disposition,  character 
istics  and  temperament  of  the  woman  whom  they 
desire  as  wife." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  that  my  course  is  approved 
by  well-meaning  people.  Since  happiness  is  the 
goal  which  we  are  all  striving  for,  we  should  be 
imbued  with  a  commendable  zeal  to  confer  happi 
ness  on  others,  too.  I  fear  that  human  nature  is 
too  prone  to  seek  its  own  happiness,  selfishly  some 
times,  at  the  cost  of  the  unhappiness  of  others. 
Marriage  is  so  apt  to  be  entered  into  without  due 
consideration  as  to  whether  the  comely  face  and 
form  do  not  mask  a  defective  disposition  with 
which  happiness  is  impossible.  I  have  long  strug 
gled  against  the  natural  disposition  to  be  irresistibly 
drawn  to  a  beautiful  exterior  and  to  love  it,  whether 
or  no  it  has  intrinsic  lovable  attributes." 

"The  mania  for  admiration,"  said  Mr.  Duvall, 
"developed  by  those  possessing  a  beautiful  exterior, 
leads  them  to  assume  a  pretense  of  amiability  which 


264      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

is  seldom  natural  in  that  class  of  perverted  natures, 
for  adulation  spoils  and  makes  hypocrites  of  them, 
and  they  feel  it  a  natural  right  to  impose  upon  the 
opposite  sex.  Their  heartlessness  is  almost  univer 
sal  among  their  class.  It  is  not  that  they  feel  any 
superiority,  I  believe,  but  it  is  the  adulation  and 
preference  shown  them  by  their  parents  first,  and 
followed  by  others,  that  spoils  them.  I,  too,  have 
tried  to  resist  that  influence.  A  conviction  of  a 
beautiful  woman  by  a  jury  of  twelve  ordinary  men 
would  be  an  anomaly,  especially  if  she  resorts  to 
her  last  recourse — tears." 

"Now  Cousin  Charley,  please  don't  commence 
any  of  your  long-drawn-out  lectures  on  womankind, 
or  it  will  be  time  for  luncheon  before  we  get  to 
the  Museum.  Please,  Mona,  get  ready  and  come 
with  us  to  the  Art  Gallery,  for  I  am  crazy  to  show 
you  a  picture  lately  hung  this  summer." 

Thus  appealed  to,  Mona  prepared  for  the  street, 
and  they  went  out. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Mr.  Richter  called  upon  Ralph  and  Mona  an 
early  hour  one  evening,  and  seemed  very  much 
elated  over  some  subject,  and  expressed  his  great 
satisfaction  at  again  meeting  Mona.  He  was  equally 
demonstrative  with  Ralph.  He  had  been  in  their 
parlor  but  a  few  minutes,  when  the  Dominie  and 
Mr.  Davidge  called,  they  having  met  together  while 
each  was  out  on  an  evening  stroll.  Neither  of  the 
elder  gentlemen  had  met  Richter;  but  both  had 
heard  Ralph  and  Mona  speak  of  him. 

At  a  question  from  Dr.  Morrison  as  to  what  his 
calling  was,  Richter  awoke  to  the  subject  that  pos 
sessed  him,  and  he  said  that  he  had  just  made  a 
change,  and  at  present  was  preparing  for  an  exami 
nation  to  enter  the  legal  profession. 

"I  feel  like  a  released  suspect  who  was  threatened 
by  the  law  with  arrest  and  trial  for  some  very  seri- 

265 


266      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

ous  offense,"  continued  Richter.  "Our  Socialistic 
Circle  urged  me  several  years  ago  to  read  law, 
with  a  view  to  admission  to  the  Bar  for  the  pur 
pose  of  making  a  specialty  of  defending  our  mem 
bership  and  Socialists  in  general,  when  arrested  or 
accused.  The  mental  strain  during  this  period  has 
not  been  light,  I  assure  you.  I  had  no  funds  with 
which  to  purchase  text-books,  but  these  I  arranged 
to  borrow  from  a  sympathetic  law  clerk  in  a  down 
town  office  who  boarded  near  me.  The  mere  pit 
tance  that  was  allowed  and  paid  me  for  my  lectures 
on  the  subject  of  Socialism  just  supported  me,  and 
kept  me  comfortably  clothed.  My  writings  were 
printed  by  our  Socialistic  Circle,  and  distributed 
free  at  our  hall,  where  we  conducted  our  talks  and 
explained  to  the  students  of  Socialism  any  points 
which  they  could  not  comprehend. 

"The  sale  of  my  written  tracts  on  Socialism  fur 
nished  about  all  the  income  which  I  received,  the 
Circle  introducing  them  to  other  Circles  through 
out  the  States.  This  brings  me  to  the  explanation 
that  gives  me  the  greatest  satisfaction  imaginable. 
I  refer  to  the  conscientious  awakening  of  my  re 
sponsibility  for  what  I  was  doing  through  my  So 
cialist  propaganda.  This  was  brought  to  my  under 
standing  and  to  my  conviction  of  the  responsibility 


MR.  RICHTER'S  CALL.  267 

by  Miss  Davidge  in  a  recent  conversation  between 
us.  I  have  severed  myself  from  that  work,  and 
shall  devote  my  energy  to  the  practice  of  the  law 
in  general." 

"Perhaps  it  took  the  act  of  the  bomb-thrower, 
Silverstein,  at  the  Union  Square  meeting  to  bring 
me  to  a  full  realization  of  the  exact  truth  of  Miss 
Davidge's  deduction  of  indisputable  facts,  for  I 
learned  that  Silverstein  had  been  a  regular  attend 
ant  at  our  quizzing  meetings,  and  was  also  an  in 
terested  student  and  attendant  of  Bergman's  asso 
ciation  of  Anarchists.  This  combination  of  the 
force  of  Miss  Davidge's  argument  and  the  Silver 
stein  incident  led  me  to  sever  myself  from  the  So 
cialist  School,  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  make  as  much 
amends  through  the  rest  of  my  life  by  an  honest 
practice  of  law  as  I  possibly  can." 

The  Dominie  seemed  very  much  pleased  when 
he  learned  that  the  seed  of  conversation  from  So 
cialist  preaching  to  that  of  an  honest  life  was  sown 
by  Mona,  and,  crossing  the  room  to  that  young 
lady,  he  seized  her  hand  and  shook  it  warmly,  say 
ing:  "I  knew  that  you  were  able  and  wise,  and  I 
congratulate  you,  my  dear  girl.  I  also  give  you  my 
congratulations,  Mr.  Richter,  and  wish  you  success," 
he  said,  as  he  heartily  shook  the  hand  of  Richter. 


268      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

The  hand-shaking  having  begun,  Ralph  also  con 
gratulated  Mr.  Richter,  and  bade  him  God-speed 
in  his  separation  from  Socialist  preaching. 

Richter  showed  not  a  little  embarrassment  at  the 
enthusiastic  congratulations  of  the  Doctor,  and  at 
the  first  lull  in  the  conversation,  arose  and  took  his 
departure.  Mona  conducted  him  to  the  front  door, 
and  when  they  had  reached  the  privacy  of  the  hall, 
and  he  was  about  to  depart,  he  took  Mona's  hand, 
and,  bowing  over  it,  reverently  kissed  it,  saying: 
"Miss  Davidge,  my  emancipation  from  the  life  of 
Socialism  and  its  child,  Anarchism,  is  due  alone  to 
you  and  your  conversation  with  me,  which  caused 
me  to  see  things  as  I  never  before  saw  them,  and 
when  I  was  hesitating  as  to  whether  I  should  give  up 
teaching  only,  and  be  but  a  passive  believer  in  the 
faith,  the  act  of  Silverstein  led  me  to  a  complete 
severance  from  the  cause  and  its  principles. 

"Socialism,  I  am  convinced,  is  all  right  in  Europe, 
where  the  oppressions  of  the  poor  call  for  such 
implements  of  revenge  on,  and  a  destruction  of,  the 
ruling  classes  as  is  within  the  reach  of  the  poor 
and  downtrodden;  but  in  America,  where  condi 
tions  are  so  far  superior  in  every  way  to  those  exist 
ing  in  the  military-ruled  countries  of  Europe,  there 
is  no  occasion  for  it,  and  I  am  no  longer  a  Socialist. 


MR.  RICHTER'S  CALL.  269 

I  will  take  out  naturalization  papers  as  soon  as  the 
law  will  permit.  Good-night." 

Mona  held  his  hand,  and  her  eyes  filled  with  tears 
as  she  said :  "Mr.  Richter,  language  fails  to  express 
my  feelings  on  this  occasion.  I  will  tell  you,  though, 
that  I  am  far  happier  to-night  than  I  have  been 
for  a  long  time.  Ralph  and  I  will  be  pleased  to 
have  you  call  on  us  just  as  often  as  you  feel  dis 
posed,  or  as  often  as  it  gives  you  pleasure.  Good 
night." 

When  Mona  returned  to  the  parlor,  she  made  no 
effort  to  hide  her  emotion,  and,  holding  her  hand 
kerchief  to  her  eyes,  sat  down  without  remark,  while 
the  minister  was  enthusiastic  over  the  reformation. 
"A  brand  plucked  from  the  burning,  literally,  by 
that  young  lady,"  and  he  said  that  he  would  revert 
to  it  in  his  next  Sunday's  sermon. 

This  seemed  to  shock  Mona's  nerves  and  to  give 
her  pain.  She  wanted  to  be  alone  with  her  own 
thoughts.  She  told  Dr.  Morrison  that,  in  so  far  as 
she  was  concerned,  she  preferred  that  he  would  not 
refer  to  the  incident  in  his  sermon,  and  certainly 
not  without  Mr.  Richter's  consent.  That,  having 
met  him  socially,  it  would  seem  like  a  breach  of 
trust  to  make  use  of  the  incident. 

"Oh,  you  are  excited  and  nervous,  Mona.    There 


270      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

would  be  no  impropriety  at  all  to  mention  the  inci 
dent  without  the  names,  I  assure  you,"  said  Dr. 
Morrison. 

"Well,  Doctor,  you  have  not  my  consent  to 
allude  to  the  matter  in  any  way,  and  if  you  do  I 
shall  esteem  it  a  breach  of  my  hospitality,  and  regret 
it  exceedingly.  Mr.  Richter  seems  to  be  a  gentle 
man  of  refinement,  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  he 
has  told  no  one  of  our  simple  argument,  and  am 
convinced  that  he  regarded  all  that  passed  in  my 
parlor  as  confidential." 

"Very  well,  Mona;  my  lips  are  sealed,"  said  Dr. 
Morrison.  Mr.  Davidge  had  been  a  silent  listener, 
and  his  countenance  was  aglow  with  satisfaction 
and  approval  of  Mona's  course,  and  upon  his  leave 
kissed  her  tenderly. 

Ralph's  mind  seemed  preoccupied,  and  he  had 
very  little  to  say  to  Mona  after  the  departure  of 
the  guests.  Mona  was  manifestly  nervous,  and 
when  they  had  seated  themselves  alone,  she  said: 
"Mr.  Richter  was  much  overcome  by  his  feelings 
when  in  the  hall,  and,  I  think,  felt  humiliated  and 
ashamed  of  the  demonstration  that  was  made  in 
his  behalf.  When  taking  his  leave  of  me  in  the 
hall,  he  said  that  he  had  severed  himself  entirely 
from  Socialism.  I  invited  him  to  call  at  our  rooms 


MR.  RICHTER'S  CALL.  271 

as  frequently  as  he  felt  disposed  to,  and  the  poor 
fellow  bent  over  and  kissed  my  hand  in  very 
gratitude.  I  hope  that  papa,  too,  will  take  an  in 
terest  in  him,  for  of  course  he  will  have  but  few 
acquaintances  outside  of  his  Socialistic  friends." 

"No,"  replied  Ralph;  "I  suppose  that  his  circle 
of  acquaintances  is  very  limited." 

They  soon  separated  and  retired  for  the  night, 
Mona  to  inquire  of  her  feelings  as  to  whether  this 
fluttering  of  her  heart,  attended  with  the  warm, 
kind  feeling  that  she  had  for  Richter  to-night,  was 
more  than  the  effect  of  the  remarkable  incident  just 
closed,  or  whether  to-morrow  would  find  her  still 
wishing  to  lay  her  hand  on  Richter's  arm  caress 
ingly.  Long  after  the  light  was  extinguished,  she 
lay  pondering  over  Richter  and  his  gentle  manners 
before  slumber  overtook  her. 

When  Ralph  was  alone  in  his  room,  he  sat 
moodily  tapping  the  table  on  which  his  arm  rested, 
his  brows  contracted,  and  evidently  very  much  agi 
tated.  Mona's  determination  with  Dr.  Morrison 
that  he  should  not  make  mention  of  the  reforma 
tion  of  Richter  seemed  to  be  solely  in  behalf  of 
Richter,  and  her  mental  disturbance,  when  she  re 
turned  from  seeing  Richter  to  the  door,  meant  more 
to  his  mind  than  mere  nervousness.  Was  she  in 


272   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

love  with  Richter?  He  recalled  that  for  some  time 
she  had  been  less  demonstrative  with  him,  rather 
waiting  for  his  advances,  for  his  parting  kiss  in 
the  mornings ;  that  she  did  not  always  come  to  meet 
him  in  the  evenings  on  his  return  from  business. 
She  had  not  called  at  his  office  for  some  time  when 
down  town  shopping.  He  also  recalled  the  fact 
that  she  had  never  intimated  that  she  was  learning 
to  reciprocate  his  love. 

With  a  deep-drawn  sigh  he  said,  as  he  arose  to 
prepare  for  bed,  "Well,  I  suppose  I  will  have  to 
wait.  Of  course,  I  cannot  urge  a  decision  as  to 
the  status  of  my  case,"  and,  thus  resigned,  he 
turned  out  the  light  and  went  to  bed. 

When  Richter  reached  his  room,  and  without 
removing  his  coat  or  assuming  his  study  jacket,  as 
was  his  habit,  he  paced  and  repaced  his  room 
excitedly  while  he  pondered  over  the  evening's  ex 
perience. 

His  law  book  lay  upon  the  table,  with  its  note- 
paper  marking  the  place  where  he  ceased  his  studies 
in  the  afternoon.  It  was  evident  that  he  was  not 
in  a  mood  to  continue  his  work  into  the  night,  as 
was  his  custom.  He  was  fighting  a  battle  for  the 
supremacy  of  principle  against  love.  The  meeting 
with  Mona  had  unsettled  him,  for  he  knew  that 


MR.  RICHTER'S  CALL.  273 

she  was  the  fiancee  of  his  friend,  and  his  strict 
sense  of  honor  could  not  brook  the  growing  interest 
which  he  felt  was  overwhelming  him,  and  had  been 
increasing  upon  each  visit.  He  questioned  himself 
closely  whether  it  was  the  influence  of  Mona's 
personality  upon  him  alone,  or  whether  he  really 
believed  that  his  crusade  against  society  was  wrong. 
When  in  the  quiet  of  his  room,  he  tried  to  reas 
sure  himself  that  he  had  been  preaching  a  false  doc 
trine  all  the  years  that  he  was  lecturing  on  Scoial- 
ism,  and  yet  there  were  moments  when  he  feared 
that  it  was  alone  the  sway  of  the  magnetic  mind 
upon  him. 

He  had  never  before  had  his  doctrines  reversed 
upon  him  personally,  and  the  responsibility  placed 
at  his  door,  as  had  been  done  by  Mona.  He  had 
a  conviction  that  his  doctrine,  if  carried  to  an  ulti 
mate  conclusion,  would  do  an  injustice  to  a  society 
represented  by  that  pure  girl  who  was  herself  a 
pioneer  for  a  higher  and  more  elevating  better 
ment  of  mankind  than  was  his.  Even  if  he  should 
never  be  more  to  her  than  now,  he  felt  that  he  could 
worship  her  as  something  far  better  than  he  could 
ever  attain  to.  The  question  came  to  him  whether  he 
had  not  erred  in  trying  to  transplant  to  this  land 
of  freedom  a  warfare  that  had  no  cause  for  action 


274      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

here.  He  had  never  given  any  continued  thought 
as  to  whether  there  might  not  be  such  a  difference 
of  conditions,  and  that  Socialism  was  out  of  its 
sphere  of  need  in  America. 

The  agitated  state  of  mind  in  which  he  found 
himself  precluded  study,  and  he  seized  his  hat  and 
descended  to  the  street  and  directed  his  footsteps 
to  Battery  Park,  where  he  traversed  the  paths  with 
his  head  bent  forward  and  his  hands  thrust  deep 
in  his  pockets  while  he  tried  to  find  a  solution  of 
the  question  that  was  agitating  him  so  seriously. 
He  continued  thus  to  walk  and  ponder  far  into  the 
night  before  his  mind  was  tranquil  enough  to  re 
spond  to  tired  nature  and  grant  him  rest.  It  was 
midnight  before  he  turned  his  face  homeward  and 
again  entered  his  room  and  sought  rest  on  his  pil 
low. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

On  the  benches  in  Battery  Park,  on  a  summer 
day,  can  be  seen  as  great  a  mixture  of  different 
races  as  perhaps  can  be  found  in  any  place  in  the 
great  metropolis  of  New  York.  It  is  the  breath 
ing-place  for  the  teeming  thousands  of  lower  New 
York.  And,  too,  on  sultry  nights,  when  permitted 
by  the  authorities,  there  may  be  found  hundreds 
stretched  upon  the  velvety  grass,  seeking  rest  and 
relief  not  to  be  found  in  the  poor  and  hot 
tenements  that  abound  in  that  part  of  the  city. 
There,  too,  may  be  found  the  impecunious  "bum," 
seeking  a  sniff  of  fresh  sea  breeze  and  taking  his 
comfort  on  the  park  bench. 

Just  as  the  summer  sun  was  disappearing  over 
the  Jersey  Heights,  two  men  walked  leisurely  from 
the  direction  of  Rector  Street,  and  sought  a  bench 
containing  the  fewest  occupants,  in  order  that  they 
might  sit  together. 

275 


276      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

One  of  them  was  a  man  of  perhaps  fifty  and  five 
years  old,  while  the  other  was  half  his  age,  and 
one  would  not  be  surprised  if  told  that  they  were 
father  and  son,  though  the  younger  topped  the 
elder  about  six  inches,  and  was  of  an  athletic  build, 
straight  of  back  and  full  of  chest,  and  decidedly 
muscular.  He  carried  under  his  arm  a  bundle 
done  up  in  a  newspaper,  neatly  wrapped,  and  in  his 
other  a  handkerchief,  with  which  he  mopped  his 
perspiring  face. 

The  elder  man's  back  had  bent  to  the  habit  of 
years  of  a  sedentary  life  of  study,  and  his  shiny 
clothes  gave  evidence  of  where  his  back  came  in 
contact  with  the  smooth  wood  of  his  chair. 

Both  had  the  appearance  of  intelligence  and 
culture.  The  elder  man  had  a  very  benign  coun 
tenance,  and  one  that  bore  the  trace  of  long  suffer 
ing  and  heroic  endurance.  He  was  close-shaven, 
with  hair  rather  long  and  stringy.  He  was,  withal, 
neat  looking. 

They  found  a  seat  just  vacated.  The  younger 
man  laid  his  hat  on  the  end  of  the  bench,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  take  the  paper  wrapping  from  the  pack 
age,  which  proved  to  be  a  law  book — Kent's  "Com 
mentaries  on  American  Law."  With  a  seeming  un 
derstanding  that  conversation  was  not  to  be  in- 


AT  BATTERY  PARK.  277 

dulged  in,  the  young  man  without  apology  pro 
ceeded  to  his  study. 

The  much-varied  tones  of  the  whistles  on  the 
numerous  passing  steam  tugs,  ferry  boats,  and  ex 
cursion  steamers,  were  not  noticed  by  the  student, 
while  the  elder  man's  attention  was  in  turn  directed 
from  one  to  the  other.  The  harmony  brought  out 
by  the  harp  and  violins  on  a  passing  Coney  Island 
excursion  boat  floated  pleasantly  on  the  air  as  the 
boat  passed  down  into  the  harbor  from  the  Hud 
son  River  landing.  The  ferry  boats  plying  to  Ellis, 
Governor's  and  Staten  Islands  in  turn  attracted  the 
attention  and  interested  the  elder  man;  but  only 
once  did  the  younger  one  raise  his  eyes  from  his 
book,  and  then  a  frown  was  shown  on  his  face, 
when  the  shrill  blast  from  the  whistle  of  the  Gover 
nor's  Island  ferry  boat  struck  violent  on  his  ears 
and  elicited  from  him  the  remark,  "That  whistle  is 
a  nuisance  that  should  be  suppressed." 

"Yes,  it  is  painfully  disagreeable,"  said  his 
companion. 

The  student  resumed  his  studies,  and  nothing 
served  to  disturb  or  attract  his  attention  until  the 
shades  of  evening  warned  him  that  a  strain  was  upon 
his  eyes,  when  he  carefully  wrapped  the  paper 


278   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

around  the  book  and  then  placed  the  book  upon  his 
knees. 

"What  a  busy  highway  this  harbor  is,"  said  the 
elder  gentleman,  "and  what  a  wealth  of  commerce 
passes  and  repasses  hourly  all  the  day  from  early 
dawn.  And  what  a  wealth  of  loss  is  occasionally 
dumped  to  the  bottom  when  one  of  those  freight- 
train  barges  topples  over  and  buries  its  contents  into 
the  Bay,  to  be  received  into  and  covered  over  by  the 
mud  and  silt  that  takes  possession,  to  be  accounted 
for  in  the  profit  and  loss  column  of  the  balance  sheet, 
and  for  which  the  stockholders  pay.  Just  observe, 
there  are  not  less  than  about  thirty  cars,  all  laden 
with  merchandise,  destined  for  Long  Island,  on  that 
boat.  They  will  go  over  the  shore  there  to  be  again 
adjusted  to  the  railroad  bed,  and  continue  their  jour 
ney  down  to  lower  Long  Island. 

"See  that  towering  elevator,  for  grain,  I  suppose. 
You  would  think  that  it  would  topple  over,  it  seems 
so  heavy  at  the  top,  and  is  built  so  high. 

"How  are  you  getting  along  with  your  studies  ?" 
asked  the  elder  man. 

"Very  well,  I  think.  I  like  study,  and  law  seems 
to  whet  my  appetite  for  it  more  and  more.  If  I  had 
a  quizzing  occasionally,  I  would  have  more  confi 
dence  in  my  progress;  but  still  my  method  of  self- 


AT  BATTERY  PARK.  279 

review  proves  my  progress  to  my  satisfaction. 
After  I  have  concluded  a  study  I  write  it  all  down 
from  memory,  going  back  to  the  beginning.  I  then 
formulate  questions  and  write  my  answers  before 
I  refer  to  the  book,  which  I  later  do,  and  place  that 
test  upon  my  memory.  Fortunately,  my  memory  is 
very  retentive,  hence  I  am  able  to  say  with  confi 
dence  that  I  am  doing  very  well.  I  will  be  ready  for 
the  Fall  examination,  and  hope  to  acquit  myself 
creditably. 

"Every  day  I  feel  the  welling  up  of  gratitude  for 
the  great  favor  you  have  done  me  in  loaning  me 
the  books  at  a  risk  to  yourself,  and  fear  that  our 
secret  may  be  discovered  some  time  when  they  will 
not  be  able  to  find  a  book  that  is  in  my  possession, 
and  bring  trouble  on  you." 

"We  have  escaped  trouble  so  far,  and  I  am  not 
at  all  apprehensive  that  any  serious  consequences  will 
ever  ensue.  Both  Mr.  Baughman  and  Mr.  Meyer 
are  very  estimable  gentlemen  and  would  not  make 
serious  trouble  for  me  in  a  matter  of  this  kind. 

"What  disgusting  objects  of  debauchery  and  vice 
are  seen  at  this  place,  the  study  of  which  is  forced 
upon  your  mind  in  spite  of  you.  That  man  on 
the  next  bench  near  you  looks  as  though  a  good  or 
kind  thought  never  enters  his  brain.  Observe  how 


280   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

his  gaze  follows  every  decently  dressed  person  that 
passes  near  him.  His  gaze  after  them  seems  to  indi 
cate  that  he  is  estimating  his  chances  of  getting  pos 
session  of  whatever  things  of  value  they  might  have 
on  their  person." 

"Yes,  and  a  thought  naturally  suggests  itself," 
said  the  younger  man :  "Has  he  anywhere  wife 
and  mother  or  children  depending  upon  him  for  sus 
tenance.  If  he  has,  what  a  poor  sustenance  it  must 
be  that  they  receive  at  his  hands,  judging  by  his 
debauched  face.  My  heart  goes  out  for  the  weak 
female  upon  whom  he  is  likely  to  vent  his  drunken 
spleen  when  some  real  or  imaginary  cause  arises  to 
excite  his  anger." 

"Do  you  think  it  possible,"  said  the  elder  man, 
"for  anybody  with  a  human  instinct  to  love  that 
brutal-looking  fellow?" 

"Yes,  it  is  likely  that  some  poor,  sickly,  sentimen 
tal  wife  is  now  sitting  at  home  looking  for  and 
dreading  the  advent  of  that  degenerate  specimen  of 
debased  manhood.  He  may  have  been  a  very  decent 
young  man  when  he  wedded  his  now  unfortunate 
wife,  and  before  the  habit  of  an  occasional  drink 
dragged  him  down  to  debauchery  and  crime.  It  is 
strange  how  even  a  once  refined  woman  will  descend 
the  ladder  of  poverty  and  suffering  with  a  man  that 


AT  BATTERY  PARK.  281 

won  her  love  when  he  was  decent.  They  call  it  love, 
but  love  is  so  often  a  misnomer  that  it  is  unfair  to 
that  divinity  to  attribute  one  per  cent,  of  the  unions 
between  man  and  woman  to  the  pre-existence  of 
love.  A  poor,  hard-working  young  woman,  living  a 
life  of  drudgery  and  toil  and  never  seeing  a  moment 
of  pleasure,  has  an  opportunity  to  marry,  and  sees 
in  it  a  change  that  seemingly  can  make  her  condition 
no  worse,  so  she  marries,  not  the  man  of  her  choice, 
perhaps,  but  marries  the  Opportunity.  She  does 
not  stop  to  ask  herself  if  she  loves  the  man.  She 
sees  deliverance  from  an  unendurable  condition,  and 
she  embraces  the  chance,  and  it  is  the  opportunity 
that  she  marries." 

"Pardon  me  for  interrupting  you,"  said  the  elder 
man,  "but  let  us  go  over  to  the  stand  and  get  a  soda. 
I  feel  thirsty." 

After  partaking  of  a  drink  of  soda,  the  old  gen 
tleman  seemed  to  have  collected  his  wits,  and  he  pro 
posed  that  they  should  walk  in  the  Park. 

With  his  hands  clasped  at  his  back  and  his  face 
bent  downward,  he  said :  "I  believe  I  never  told  you 
why,  at  fifty-seven  years  of  age,  I  have  never 
wedded.  It  may  not  interest  you  in  the  recital,  but 
your  remarks  brought  to  me  an  experience  that  is 
particularly  harrowing. 


282   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"When  scarce  twenty-two  years  old  I  was  teach 
ing  school  up  state,  and  there  met  a  young  woman 
of  perhaps  twenty  years,  who  was  also  teaching. 
She  was  comely  of  face  and  a  very  lovable  girl.  Her 
disposition  was  amiable,  as  was  apparent  in  many 
ways,  and  especially  in  kindnesses  to  the  unfortu 
nate  in  the  little  town.  One  of  her  kind  acts  to  the 
poor  was  to  go  to  the  cabin  of  a  rheumatic  widow 
and  clean  and  put  in  order  the  two  little  rooms  for 
the  invalid.  The  old  woman  was  in  receipt  of  a 
few  dollars  from  the  county  authorities  for  her  sus 
tenance.  She  lived  alone  in  the  suburbs,  and  was 
not  able  to  sweep  or  clean,  so  this  young  school 
teacher  went  there  twice  a  week.  Another  of  her 
little  charities  was  to  visit  an  old  and  blind  negress 
on  Sunday  afternoons,  repeat  the  sermon  that  she 
had  heard  preached  in  the  morning,  and  read  the 
Bible  and  sing  hymns  to  the  aged  woman. 

"These  acts  of  charity,  of  which  I  heard  acciden 
tally,  appealed  to  me,  and  my  heart  went  out  to  the 
young  woman  as  it  never  had  to  any  one  else.  I 
really  feel  convinced  that  I  loved  her.  My  salary 
was  not  enough  to  support  a  wife,  so  I  never  told 
her  of  my  love.  It  was  a  conscientious  duty  with 
me  not  to  say  anything  to  the  young  woman  until 
I  could  ask  her  to  marry  me.  I  never  knew  whether 


AT  BATTERY  PARK.  283 

she  would  have  cared  for  me,  for  I  was  very  quiet 
and  plain. 

"I  received  a  call  to  take  a  place  in  the  academy 
in  the  county  seat.  It  was  a  subordinate  position  at 
the  same  meagre  salary  that  I  was  then  receiving, 
but  it  offered  me  advantages  of  study  which  I 
desired. 

"I  resigned  and  went  away,  resolved  in  my  mind 
that  when  I  should  get  an  advance  in  salary  I  would 
come  back  and  propose  marriage  to  her.  It  was  a 
year  before  the  advance  of  salary  took  place.  I  had 
not  seen  nor  written  to  the  young  woman  during  that 
period.  Perhaps  I  was  too  conscientious  on  this 
subject.  If  I  had  even  spoken  to  her  she  might 
have  been  willing  to  wait  for  me,  and  she  certainly 
would  have  saved  herself  from  the  heavy  sorrows 
that  she  has  had  to  suffer  since. 

"Well,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  when  I  had  received 
the  increased  salary,  I  took  advantage  of  the  first 
chance  to  get  away  for  a  few  days,  and  I  went  back 
to  the  scenes  of  my  first  teaching.  When  I  made 
inquiries  about  her,  I  learned  that  she  had  married 
a  young  grocery  clerk  with  less  conscience  and  more 
bravery  than  I  could  muster,  for  his  salary  was  really 
less  than  mine  had  been.  He  was  wanting  in  the 


284      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

intellect  and  culture  that  was  possessed  by  the  young 
woman. 

"I  saw  her  at  her  window,  but  had  no  opportunity 
for  conversation,  and  in  fact  I  wanted  none.  On 
that  visit  I  learned  that  her  childhood  life  had  been 
one  of  abuse  and  trial  and  hard  work. 

"Her  mother  had  died  during  her  infancy,  and 
her  father  had  very  soon  afterward  married  again 
to  secure  a  housekeeper.  The  woman  he  married 
married  him  for  a  home,  and  had  no  love  for  him. 
It  seems  natural  that  if  the  new  wife  had  no  love 
for  her  husband,  she  would  have  less  for  the  little 
babe  that  was  a  tax  on  her  time  and  care.  The 
father  took  little  interest  in  his  home,  and  the  babe 
had  a  hard  time  of  it,  and  it  so  continued  during  her 
young  child-  and  girl-hood.  She  grew  up  a  ser 
vant  and  housekeeper  in  her  own  father's  home. 
She  was  studious,  and  soon  became  proficient  as  a 
teacher  in  the  country  school  near  her  home  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years. 

"It  was  quite  a  year  before  I  again  visited  tl=e 
town  where  she  lived,  and  it  seemed  that  I  was 
drawn  there  against  my  will,  for  I  almost  knew  that 
she  was  in  trouble  and  unhappy. 

"Upon  that  visit  I  learned  that  her  husband  had 
lost  his  place  in  the  store  through  hard  drinking, 


AT  BATTERY  PARK.  285 

that  a  child  had  been  born,  and  that  she  suffered  for 
food,  and,  worse  than  all  else,  when  drunk  he  had 
abused  the  frail  little  woman.  Oh,  I  felt  that  I  must 
thrash  the  brute  when  I  heard  that  part  of  her  mis 
ery.  I  had  become  morose  over  the  consciousness 
that  I  had  not  done  right  by  myself  or  her  in  not 
having  declared  myself  to  her  and  risked  a  refusal. 
I  felt  that  her  misery  was  chargeable  to  my  scruples. 

"As  you  said  a  while  ago,  the  act  of  brutality 
seemed  to  bind  her  closer  to  him,  for  she  never  told 
the  minister's  wife  of  the  fact  of  his  whipping  her. 
It  is  horrifying  to  me  every  time  I  think  of  it." 

"There  is  a  homely  old  Scotch  adage,"  said  the 
young  man,  "  'A  woman,  a  dog,  and  a  walnut  tree, 
the  more  they  are  beaten  the  better  they  be,'  that 
seems  to  appeal  to  experience  in  regard  both  to  the 
dog  and  to  the  woman.  I  know  nothing  of  its  action 
on  a  walnut  tree.  I  think  they  dragged  that  in 
merely  to  fill  up.  It  is  past  my  comprehension  that 
a  woman  could  endure  a  brute  that  would  raise  his 
hand  to  strike  her." 

The  elder  man  was  very  much  discomposed  over 
the  recalling  of  the,  to  him,  harrowing  connection. 
He  continued  to  walk  in  silence,  and  they  turned  in 
the  direction  of  Rector  Street  without  further  speech 
on  the  part  of  either. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

In  a  prosperous-looking  law  office  on  Rector 
Street,  not  far  from  old  Trinity  Church,  sat  in  his 
private  office  Wilhelm  Baughman,  of  the  firm  of 
Baughman  &  Meyer.  The  office  took  in  several 
rooms  fronting  on  Rector  Street,  and  was  situated 
on  the  sixth  floor. 

Mr.  Baughman  was  born  and  reared  in  Heidel- 
burg,  and  had  been  graduated  from  the  celebrated 
university  of  that  name  in  the  Duchy  of  Baden. 
After  graduating,  he  had  been  chosen  as  Assistant 
Librarian  of  the  university,  which  gave  him  much 
opportunity  to  study  before  he  cast  his  fortune  with 
the  Western  World. 

Mr.  Meyer  was  of  Hebrew  extraction,  and  had 
come  to  this  country  with  his  parents  when  but  an 
infant.  He  had  been  graduated  at  Columbia 
College,  and  at  once  entered  a  law  firm  in  which  his 
grandfather  had  amassed  a  competency  before  he 
was  appointed  a  judge  by  Governor  Fenton. 

286 


BAUGHMAN  &  MEYER.  287 

Owing  to  the  firm  being  German  and  Hebrew, 
the  clientage  was  largely  made  up  of  those  two 
nationalities. 

These  two  had  been  drawn  together  in  their 
younger  days  by  a  bond  of  sympathy  born  of  grati 
tude  through  young  Baughman  coming  to  the  rescue 
of  Meyer  when  he  had  been  set  upon  by  some  hood 
lums  on  the  East  Side  in  lower  New  York.  Baugh 
man  being  of  athletic  training,  his  prowess  had  done 
good  service  in  driving  away  the  gang. 

From  that  time  they  became  great  friends,  and  the 
friendship  then  cemented  drew  them  together  when 
their  ambition  led  them  to  start  out  for  themselves. 

Mr.  Baughman  was  of  a  generous  and  philan 
thropic  disposition,  and  when  he  heard  through  his 
clerk  that  he  had  a  friend  whose  poverty  prevented 
him  from  buying  text-books,  he  took  an  unusual  in 
terest  in  the  young  man. 

In  the  library  sat  Christian  Lichliter,  the  confiden 
tial  man  of  the  firm,  and  in  him  we  recognize  the 
elder  of  the  two  men  who  spent  the  evening  in  Bat 
tery  Park  on  the  previous  Saturday.  He  had  just 
removed  his  raincoat  and  rubbers,  which  showed  the 
drip  of  a  severe  rain,  and  taken  his  seat,  when  a 
messenger  boy  came  into  the  library  and  informed 
him  that  Mr.  Baughman  desired  to  see  him  in  his 


288   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

private  office.  Just  as  he  reached  the  door  leading 
to  the  office,  he  met  Mr.  Meyer,  who  entered  with 
him. 

Mr.  Baughman  asked  them  to  be  seated,  after  giv 
ing  a  pleasant  morning  salutation  to  each.  It  was 
evident  that  the  two  gentlemen  were  meeting  by 
appointment,  for  Mr.  Baughman  immediately  ad 
dressed  Mr.  Lichliter  on  the  subject  under  considera 
tion,  asking  him  when  he  had  seen  his  protege 
last. 

Mr.  Lichliter,  being  thus  addressed,  said :  "I  saw 
him  last  Saturday  night,  and  spent  the  evening  with 
him  in  Battery  Park." 

"Tell  us,  please,  how  you  were  impressed  with 
him,  and  how  he  was  getting  along  in  his  study  of 
the  law?" 

"Well,  I  still  have  a  very  high  estimate  of  him. 
Since  I  have  been  observing  him  on  account  of 
the  interest  you  have  taken  in  him,  I  have  watched 
him  with,  perhaps,  a  more  critical  eye,  and  I  must 
state  that  he  bears  the  scrutiny  with  great  credit. 
While  I  admired  him  very  much  before,  I  am  more 
than  ever  impressed  with  his  worth.  He  is  mod 
est  and  unassuming,  and  very  considerate  in  his 
demeanor  towards  others.  On  Saturday  he  ex 
pressed  to  me  his  gratitude  for  the  favor  of  getting 


BAUGHMAN  &  MEYER.  289 

him  the  book,  and  his  great  concern  lest  it  should 
bring  trouble  upon  me  should  you  happen  to  want 
one  of  the  books  that  he  was  studying.  Gratitude  is 
one  of  his  cardinal  virtues." 

"That  is  golden,"  said  Mr.  Meyer. 

"Relative  to  his  progress  in  his  studies,  he  said 
he  was  quite  confident  that  he  would  do  credit  to 
himself  when  the  time  came  for  his  examination. 
He  feels  the  want  of  an  occasional  quizzing,  but  he 
has  substituted  for  it  a  splendid  system  of  review 
and  self-quizzing. 

"I  have  been  particularly  observant  of  his  grasp 
of  the  question  immediately  upon  its  being  intro 
duced,  and  of  his  quick  analysis  of  conditions." 

"I  am  particularly  pleased  to  hear  that,"  said  Mr. 
Baughman. 

"You  have  seen  much  of  him,  now  tell  us  whether 
you  would  believe  it  wise  to  take  him  into  our  firm 
as  a  junior  partner.  We  need  the  services  of  some 
one  at  present  to  handle  our  cases  coming  up  from 
the  lower  courts.  I  do  not  think  it  wise  to  turn 
over  to  outsiders  cases  of  minor  importance,  which 
we  cannot  handle  because  our  time  is  more  important 
on  greater  ones,  for  that  may  cause  us  to  lose  clients 
who  later  may  have  more  important  work." 

"I   coincide   with   you   in   the   retention  of   the 


29o   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

smaller  cases.  I  know  of  no  one  who  could  fill  the 
bill  better  than  my  protege.  I  think  it  would  be 
a  wise  move  and  one  that  you  will  never  regret. 
Certainly  you  will  never  have  cause  to  regret 
through  any  act  of  his.  He  is  the  soul  of  honor." 

"We  have  concluded,  if  he  passes  creditably,  to 
offer  him  a  junior  partnership  upon  what  you  have 
reported  to  us,  because  we  have  a  high  opinion  of 
your  judgment.  Of  course,  this  is  entirely  between 
ourselves." 

Thus  was  crystallized  an  understanding  that 
would  soon  bear  fruit  which  would  make  happy 
more  than  the  principals  concerned  in  it.  It  is  need 
less  to  inform  our  readers  that  this  prospective  part 
ner  of  the  already  prosperous  firm  of  lawyers  is  no 
other  than  the  Mr.  Richter  of  our  acquaintance. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

In  a  darkened,  scantily-furnished  room,  with  but 
one  window,  and  that  looking  into  a  back  court  in 
a  downtown  tenement  near  Broad  Street,  within 
sound  of  a  shrieking,  whistling  crowd  of  curbstone 
brokers,  sat  a  small,  thin-chested  and  emaciated 
woman  of  perhaps  twenty-five  years  of  age.  She 
was  dressed  in  black,  and  bore  the  evidences  of  sor 
row  and  toil,  with  a  want  of  proper  nourishing  food. 
She  had  a  dark  complexion  and  raven-black  hair, 
which  might  indicate  foreign  blood.  She  was  en 
gaged  in  sewing  buttonholes  in  coarse  shirts,  a  pile 
of  which  lay  on  the  floor  at  her  side.  Close  to  her 
was  a  low  cot  on  which  was  lying  a  sickly-looking 
child  of  perhaps  three  years,  whose  little,  wizen  face 
was  turned  toward  her  mother.  The  child  showed 
want  and  poverty. 

The  mother  was  trying  to  beguile  her  with  a  prom 
ise,  and  gave  her  a  drink  of  water,  telling  her,  "He 
will  come  to  see  my  little  sick  baby,  because  mama 

291 


292      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

sent  word  to  him.  Mama  knows  he  will  come  just  as 
soon  as  he  hears  that  his  Little  Sweetheart  is  sick, 
for  he  is  kind  and  good.  Now,  take  its  medicine, 
and  mama  will  wash  its  little  face,  and  set  her  little 
girl  up  against  the  pillow,  so  that  she  can  see  him  as 
soon  as  he  opens  the  door." 

She  busied  herself  washing  the  little  face  and 
straightening  and  smoothing  out  the  counterpane 
on  the  bed,  while  she  talked  and  smilingly  said : 
"Now  she  looks  sweet  and  clean,  and  she  can  see 
him  as  soon  as  he  opens  the  door.  There  is  some 
body  coming  downstairs,  and  mama  thinks  it  is  lit 
tle  Johnnie,  and  mama  will  tell  Johnnie  to  tell  Mr. 
Yittie  to  come  now,  for  mama's  baby  is  washed 
nice  and  clean,  and  is  waiting  for  him." 

"  'Es,  mama ;  tell  Yonnie  to  tell  Mr.  Yittie  to  turn 
now,"  lisped  the  little  patient. 

The  weary  mother  opened  the  door,  and  the  foot 
steps  ceased  before  it.  She  said  to  the  little  boy  who 
stopped  on  the  threshold:  "Now,  Johnnie,  little 
Mabel  has  taken  her  bitter  medicine  and  had  her  face 
washed  like  a  nice  little  lady,  and  she  is  waiting  for 
Mr.  Yittie.  What  time  is  it,  Johnnie?" 

"It's  gist  half  past  two.  I'll  look  for  him  for 
Mabel,  and  tell  him  to  come  right  away." 

Johnnie  was  an  orphan,  living  with  his  grand- 


MR.  RICHTER'S  BENEVOLENCE.      293 

mother  on  the  floor  above,  and  helped  to  support  her 
by  selling  papers. 

We  will  follow  Johnnie  up  Broad  Street  and 
thence  up  Liberty  and  over  toward  Broadway,  where 
he  had  to  dodge  in  and  out  of  the  passing  crowd. 
He  crossed  Broadway,  and  stood  facing  Liberty 
Street,  casting  his  eyes  up  and  down  that  thorough 
fare,  while  crying  his  afternoon  papers  all  the  while. 
His  attention  seems  fastened  on  some  object  coming 
up  Broadway,  and  so  intent  is  he  that  he  forgets  to 
cry  his  papers.  Suddenly  he  darts  across  and  stops 
beside  a  passing  man,  when  he  reaches  out  and 
touches  the  man's  hand,  and  then  steps  back  and 
beckons  the  man  to  come,  which  he  promptly  does, 
with  the  question:  "Do  you  want  to  speak  to  me, 
son?" 

"Yes,  sir;  don't  you  know  little  Mabel  Plank?" 

"Yes,  I  know  little  Mabel  and  her  parents." 

"Well,  little  Mabel  is  sick,  and  she  wants  to  see 
you.  Won't  you  come  down  to  see  her  ?" 

"Certainly,  I  will;  right  away  or  within  a  few 
minutes." 

He  hurried  up  town,  and  soon  was  lost  to  sight, 
and  Johnnie  then  offered  his  papers  for  sale,  with 
out  interruption. 

We  will  return  to  the  sick-room  before  he  gets 


294   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

there,  and  look  around  the  room  a  little  more  partic 
ularly.  In  the  corner  of  the  room,  beside  the  win 
dow,  against  the  wall,  is  a  cupboard,  and  its  door  is 
partly  open.  On  the  shelf,  standing  up  against  the 
back  of  it,  three  plates,  a  cup  and  saucer,  a  molasses 
jug  and  a  bowl  made  of  wood  may  be  seen.  The  cup 
board  has  a  perforated  front  of  tin,  and  is  fly- 
specked,  and  has  the  appearance  of  age.  The  dishes 
are  all  of  a  cheap  variety. 

The  woman  sat  on  a  low  rocker,  and  there  were 
two  chairs,  one  of  the  wooden  kind  and  the  other 
cane-seated.  The  common  square  table  that  had  at 
some  remote  time  been  painted,  but  now  only  showed 
that  fact  on  the  upper  part  of  the  legs.  On  the  wall 
hung  a  photograph  of  a  man  whose  features  showed 
him  to  be  of  German  birth.  He  looked  to  be  about 
twenty-five,  had  heavy  brows  and  a  small  brown 
mustache.  There  were  several  colored  fashion-plates 
pinned  to  the  wall.  A  cheap  clock  that  was  now 
silent  hung  on  the  wall,  and  the  dingy,  smoky  walls 
were  otherwise  empty  and  bare. 

The  woman  was  not  a  widow,  as  might  have  been 
inferred  from  her  being  dressed  in  black.  Her  hus 
band  was  serving  time  in  the  Ossining  Prison  for 
disloyalty  to  his  adopted  country.  He  was  an  intel 
ligent  man  and  a  Socialist,  with  strong  leanings 


MR.  RICHTER'S  BENEVOLENCE.      295 

toward  Anarchy,  but  had  not  declared  himself  of 
that  belief. 

His  offense  was  persistence  in  speaking  at  an 
open-air  meeting  of  workingmen  at  a  time  when 
feeling  ran  high  against  the  enforcement  of  law 
during  a  street  railway  strike.  An  attempt  was 
made  by  the  police  to  disperse  a  crowd  assembled 
to  hear  Plank  speak,  and  when  pulled  from  a  dry- 
goods  box  from  which  he  was  haranguing  the  crowd, 
he  struck  the  officer,  and  a  general  riot  followed, 
when  pistols  and  clubs  were  used.  The  testimony 
showed  that  he  was  the  leader  on  the  occasion,  and 
he  was  sentenced  to  a  year  in  prison. 

The  wife  and  little  child  were  the  sufferers,  as 
is  usual  when  the  husband  and  father  is  taken  to 
prison,  where  his  meals  are  full  and  regular,  while 
the  poor  family  is  thus  bereft  of  support,  though 
poor  it  may  have  been.  The  rent  falling  due,  and 
no  money  with  which  to  pay,  her  little  belongings 
were  set  upon  the  sidewalk,  while  her  babe  was  sick 
and  she  far  from  strong.  The  poor  woman  soon 
found  that  of  the  many  admiring  friends  that  her 
husband  had,  but  a  single  one  had  thus  far  be 
friended  her. 

"Is  Mista  Yittie  tumin'?"  piped  the  little  voice 
from  the  bed. 


296      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Yes,  baby,  just  as  soon  as  Johnnie  finds  him. 
Mama  knows  he  will  come  to  see  his  Little  Sweet 
heart." 

The  quick  ear  of  the  expectant  mother  caught  the 
sound  of  coming  footfalls  upon  the  stairs,  but  she 
did  not  speak  of  it  to  the  little  sufferer,  lest  it  should 
prove  to  be  not  he,  and  another  disappointment 
would  pain  her.  She  looked  at  the  child  to  see  if 
she,  too,  heard  the  footstep. 

"Yat's  Mista  Yittie  turning,  mama."  And  the 
wan  face  brightened  with  expectancy  and  a  smile 
was  on  it  when  the  door  opened,  and  Mr.  Richter 
entered,  after  a  light  knock.  He  shook  hands  with 
the  mother,  and  continued  toward  the  bed,  where  the 
little  arms  were  struggling  to  reach  him  as  he  came 
forward.  His  voice  was  kind  and  soothing  when  he 
said:  "How  is  my  Little  Sweetheart  to-day.  Will 
you  sit  on  my  knee,  dear?" 

"  'Es  I  'ood,  Mista  Yittie.     Baby  is  sit." 

Mr.  Richter  took  her  tenderly  in  his  arms,  and 
she  snuggled  down  with  contentment. 

"It  is  too  bad  that  my  Little  Sweetheart  is  sick. 
She  must  take  her  medicine  and  get  well.  Then 
she  will  be  a  big  girl,  and  strong,  and  will  go  into 
the  Park  and  play  with  the  children.  Won't  she?" 


MR.  RICHTER'S  BENEVOLENCE.      297 

and  he  wrapped  his  great  arms  around  her  little 
frame  lovingly. 

"  'Es ;  Baby  'ants  to  go  to  Park  wis  oo.  P'ease 
do  take  me  to  Park,"  urged  the  child  plaintively. 

The  weak  .voice  appealed  to  the  strong  man,  and 
he  asked  the  mother  if  she  thought  it  would  hurt  her 
to  take  her  out. 

The  mother  said  that  she  did  not  think  it  would. 
"She  is  not  perspiring,  and  I  will  put  a  little  dress 
on  her,  and  then  you  can  take  her  if  you  will.  I 
think  it  would  do  her  good.  For  the  last  three  days 
she  has  been  talking  and  asking  for  you,  and  wanting 
to  see  you.  The  poor  little  soul  does  not  see  any 
person  except  Little  Johnnie  and  his  mother,  who 
come  in  occasionally  since  she  has  been  sick.  There 
is  little  that  can  be  seen  from  the  window,  and  I 
cannot  spare  time  to  take  her  out,  and  really  I  am 
too  tired  and  weak  to  take  her  out  in  the  evenings." 

"There,  now,  Mr.  Richter,  you  can  take  your  Lit 
tle  Sweetheart  out  to  the  Park.  Kiss  mama,  darling, 
and  don't  forget  to  come  back  to  its  muzzer.  I  hope 
she  will  not  be  any  trouble  to  you,  Mr.  Richter." 

They  passed  out  into  the  hall  and  thence  down  the 
stairs,  and  when  they  reached  the  sidewalk,  Mr. 
Richter  turned  south,  and  then  west  at  the  corner, 
and  on  over  toward  Battery  Park.  They  passed 


298      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

under  the  "L,"  road,  and  he  paused  long  enough  for 
his  little  charge  to  look  up  at  the  passing  train.  Just 
then  a  crowd  of  ferry  passengers  were  rushing  past, 
and  Mr.  Richter  changed  his  plans  and  recrossed  the 
street  and  entered  the  ferry  house  of  the  Staten 
Island  ferry.  He  paid  a  fare  and  passed  into  the 
crowd  that  was  just  entering  the  gate  that  admitted 
them  to  the  bridge,  and  entered  the  boat.  He  passed 
the  full  length  of  the  boat  to  the  upper  deck,  and 
seized  a  chair  hurriedly  and  sought  a  seat  close  to 
the  rail,  well  forward.  All  this  time  his  little  charge 
was  held  lovingly  to  his  breast.  The  breeze  was 
pleasant  and  refreshing ;  he  sat  facing  the  east,  with 
his  body  protecting  the  babe  from  the  sun's  rays. 
She  was  delighted  with  the  commotion  and  the  pass 
ing  boats,  all  of  which  could  be  seen  from  their  posi 
tion.  The  whistle  blew,  and  the  stately  ship  moved 
out  into  the  Bay,  and  headed  for  Staten  Island. 
Presently  the  music  started  up  near  the  stateroom 
entrance,  and  the  little  face  brightened,  and  she 
purred  "oosick,"  and  then  looked  at  the  passing 
ferry-boat,  that  had  been  waiting  for  the  vacancy 
to  enter  the  slip  out  of  which  they  had  just  passed. 
Richter  did  not  try  to  entertain  the  little  one,  but 
was  thinking  of  other  than  his  surroundings,  but  his 
arms  had  not  relaxed  their  protective  care. 


MR.  RICHTER'S  BENEVOLENCE.      299 

When  nearing  the  island,  the  commotion  began 
to  be  noisy  through  shuffling  of  feet  and  pushing 
of  chairs,  and  Richter  looked  at  his  charge  and  was 
surprised  to  find  her  eyes  closed  in  an  apparently 
sound  sleep,  evidencing  the  narcotic  effect  of  sea- 
salt  air. 

As  the  crowd  passed  off  the  boat  he  took  his  chair 
in  hand,  holding  the  babe  in  one  arm,  and  passed  to 
the  front  of  the  boat,  in  order  to  secure  a  good  loca 
tion  near  the  rail,  well  in  front,  on  the  same  side  of 
the  boat.  Still  she  slept,  and  he  was  well  pleased. 

Occasionally  those  near  him  would  regard  him 
with  curiosity,  but  he  seemed  indifferent  to  their 
gaze.  The  bareheaded  sleeping  child  in  the  arms  of 
the  young  man  was  evidently  a  sight  new  to  them. 
One  of  the  nearest  to  him  was  a  middle-aged  woman 
and  her  little  daughter,  a  child  of  about  ten  years. 
The  child  came  and  stood  at  Richter's  knees  and 
gazed  intently  at  the  babe  in  his  arms.  Encouraged 
by  his  pleasant  smile,  she  asked :  "Is  she  sick  ?" 

"Yes,  she  has  been  sick." 

"Is  she  your  little  girl  ?"  she  asked.  Her  mother 
chjded  her  for  being  rude  in  asking  such  questions, 
and  said:  "Of  course,  she  is  the  gentleman's  child, 
•Ella." 


300   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"No,  madam,  the  child  is  not  mine.  I  have  taken 
an  interest  in  her,  and  she  wanted  to  go  to  the  Park, 
and  I  started  for  the  Park,  then  thought  this  would 
afford  her  more  pleasure  in  seeing  the  boats. 

"She  fell  asleep  before  we  got  over  the  Bay.  Her 
mother  gets  so  little  for  her  sewing  that  she  can 
not  take  the  time  from  her  work  to  give  the  child 
even  an  hour's  airing.  This  is  her  only  child." 

"And  have  you,  a  single  gentleman,  brought  her 
out  only  through  kindness  for  the  child?"  asked  the 
lady. 

"Yes,  madam ;  it  was  about  all  that  I  could  do  for 
her,  for  my  means  are  very  limited  at  present,  and 
it  was  little  enough;  but  the  child  clings  to  me  so 
dependently  that  I  had  not  the  heart  to  refuse  her. 
It  was  evidently  just  what  she  needed." 

"Oh,  it  is  giving  life  to  the  child  and  evidently  is 
doing  her  more  good  than  medicine  could  do.  Where 
does  her  mother  live?" 

"Over  close  to  Broad  Street,  just  back  of  the 
Curb  Market.  Her  name  is  Plank,  and  she  is  a 
very  worthy  woman." 

"I  come  over  on  the  ferry  nearly  every  evening, 
just  for  the  breath  of  fresh  air  it  gives  my  little 
girl.  If  it  is  not  far  from  South  Ferry,  I  might 
sometimes  call  and  take  the  child  with  me.  My 


MR.  RICHTER'S  BENEVOLENCE.      301 

daughter  seems  much  interested  in  it,  and  I  like  to 
encourage  her  in  any  kind  impulses." 

"It  would  be  a  blessing  if  you  could  do  so,  and 
certainly  a  great  favor  to  the  mother,  for  she  has 
neither  the  time  nor  means  for  even  this  little  outing. 
I  should  be  glad  if  you  would  walk  around  and  see 
for  yourself.  I  am  only  an  acquaintance." 

"Have  I  not  seen  you  on  the  rostrum  on  Twenty- 
seventh  and  Broadway,  talking  Socialism?"  ques 
tioned  the  lady. 

"It  is  possible,  for  I  have  spoken  there  manv 
times." 

"I  do  not  live  far  from  there,  and  have  seen  you 
several  times." 

They  were  now  going  into  the  slip  on  the  New 
York  side  and  the  crowd  had  nearly  all  gone  down 
and  crowded  out  to  the  apron,  as  is  usual  in  the 
hurry  of  a  New  York  mob.  The  babe  still  slept, 
and  the  little  girl  hovered  around  and  said :  "I  wish 
he  would  let  me  carry  the  baby,  mama." 

"Not  to-day,  daughter.  It  might  not  be  safe  in 
your  arms  in  this  crowd."  They  descended  the 
stairs  together  and  proceeded  up  the  street  a  few 
blocks  before  turning  toward  Broad  Street,  Richtex" 
leading  along  the  crowded  thoroughfare.  When  they 
reached  the  house,  he  proceeded  up  the  stairs  and 


302   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

along  the  hall  to  the  door  of  Mabel's  mother,  where 
he  paused  and  knocked  softly.  Mrs.  Plank  opened 
the  door,  and  seeing  Mabel  stretched  limp  in  Rich- 
ter's  arms  and  he  accompanied  by  a  strange  woman 
and  child,  the  poor  overstrained  body  gave  way,  and 
she  fell  in  a  faint. 

Richter  stepped  over  the  prostrate  form  of  the 
mother  and  placed  the  still  sleeping  babe  on  its  bed. 
When  he  had  disposed  of  the  child,  and  turned  to 
assist  in  resuscitating  the  mother,  the  lady  had  pro 
duced  a  bottle  of  smelling  salts,  was  kneeling  at  her 
side,  and  had  the  salts  beneath  her  nostrils,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  her  eyes  opened  and  she  faintly  ut 
tered  the  name  of  her  child  and  stared  wildly  at 
Richter,  when  the  lady  said  tenderly :  "Your  babe  has 
been  sleeping  over  an  hour,  and  is  getting  well." 

A  faint  smile  swept  over  her  face. 

As  soon  as  she  spoke,  Richter  knelt  by  her  side 
and  asked  her  when  she  had  eaten  anything,  and 
was  told  that  she  had  had  a  little  tea  and  bread  in 
the  morning.  Rising,  he  said,  "I  thought  so,"  and 
then  addressing  the  stranger,  said,  "Please  remain 
until  I  return.  I  will  be  back  in  a  few  minutes,"  and 
hurried  away. 

Mrs.  Plank  attempted  to  rise,  and  the  lady  placed 
her  hand  under  her  arms  and  assisted  her,  holding 


MR.  RICHTER'S  BENEVOLENCE.      303 

her  thin  body  until  she  was  seated  on  the  rocking 
chair. 

The  little  girl  seemed  fascinated  by  little  Mabel, 
for  she  had  taken  a  position  by  the  bedside  as  close 
to  Mabel  as  she  could  get,  and  was  holding  her 
hand.  The  stranger  told  Mrs.  Plank  how  Mabel 
had  fallen  asleep  going  over,  and  had  slept  ever  since, 
and  how  tender  the  gentleman  had  been,  and  that 
his  care  of  the  child  had  attracted  her  attention,  and 
her  little  girl  had  fallen  in  love  with  Mabel  and  had 
wanted  to  carry  her  home.  All  of  this  recital  had 
a  soothing  and  pleasing  effect  upon  the  poor,  half- 
starved  mother. 

Richter  returned  just  then  and  had  with  him  a 
bowl  of  steaming  hot  vegetable  soup  and  some  bread. 
This  he  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  mother  and  urged 
her  to  eat  it  for  Mabel's  sake.  He  said  he  would 
now  go  and  bring  some  sterilized  milk  for  Mabel 
to  eat  when  she  awoke,  and  said :  "I  bespeak  a  good 
appetite  for  Mabel  when  she  wakes  up." 

Richter  went  out  and  was  gone  some  ten  minutes 
before  he  returned. 

In  the  meantime  the  stranger  had  learned  that  it 
was  Mr.  Richter,  and  that  he  had  been  kind  to  her 
and  her  little  daughter  ever  since  trouble  had  be- 


304   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

fallen  them.  That  his  nature  was  kind  and  gentle 
as  well  as  considerate. 

Richter  returned  with  the  milk,  and  told  Mrs. 
Plank  that  he  was  now  late  for  another  engagement. 
He  bade  her  good-bye,  and  was  about  to  bow  him 
self  out,  when  the  stranger  arose  and  extended  her 
hand  to  him  and  said :  "I  am  Mrs.  Ferguson,  and  I 

live  at West  Twenty-eighth  Street.  You  have 

won  my  admiration  for  the  manner  in  which  you 
have  acquitted  yourself  to-day.  I  am  very  glad  to 
have  met  one  New  York  man  with  a  heart  like  you 
have  shown  that  you  possess." 

Richter  was  covered  with  confusion,  and  mur 
mured  that  he  had  only  done  a  little  kindness  to  a 
deserving  woman.  He  backed  out  of  the  room,  bow 
ing  to  the  two  women. 

When  he  had  gone,  Mrs.  Ferguson  questioned 
Mrs.  Plank  about  her  work  and  what  she  could  make 
at  it,  and  as  to  her  ability  to  do  plain  sewing.  She 
told  her  that  her  little  girl  had  taken  such  an  unusual 
interest  in  Mabel  that  she  would  be  in  the  next  day 
and  would  bring  some  sewing  to  do  for  herself,  and 
they  would  give  Mabel  another  outing,  if  she  would 
permit.  Mrs.  Ferguson  bade  her  good-bye,  and  left. 

When  Mrs.  Plank  returned  to  the  room  after  see 
ing  them  to  the  turn  in  the  hall,  her  eyes  rested  on 


MR.  RICHTER'S  BENEVOLENCE.      305 

a  silver  half-dollar  lying  on  the  table.  She  recalled 
the  fact  that  the  stranger  had  not  been  near  the  table, 
consequently  it  must  have  been  good  Mr.  Richter 
who  had  left  her  the  money.  The  poor  woman  sank 
on  her  knees  at  the  side  of  the  bed  and  buried  her 
face  in  the  dress  of  her  babe  and  prayed  thankfully 
for  the  one  good  friend  that  had  blessed  her  home 
with  his  presence.  While  she  was  returning  thanks 
for  the  blessing,  Mabel  awoke  and  lisped:  "Mista 
Yittie  took  baby  to  boat;  boat  ooed  youd." 

"Is  baby  hungry  ?"  asked  the  mother. 

"  'Es,  baby  is  hung'y." 

The  happy  mother  got  the  wooden  bowl  from  the 
cupboard  and  made  a  goodly  quantity  of  bread  and 
milk,  which  was  more  of  a  feast  than  had  been 
placed  before  the  child  for  some  time.  She  knelt 
down  by  the  side  of  the  bed  and  fed  it  to  the  child, 
who  ate  ravenously.  The  mother  saw  that  her  baby 
was  much  better  and  stronger  than  she  had  been  in 
the  morning,  and  her  gratitude  to  Richter  was  over 
whelming.  The  day  was  ending  happily  that  had 
been  so  dark  and  sad  to  her.  If  the  richly-dressed 
lady  brought  her  better  paying  work  and  her  baby 
got  well,  it  would  be  due  to  that  good  man,  and  she 
prayed  that  God  would  bless  him  with  happiness  and 
success. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

When  Richter  emerged  from  the  little  alley  onto 
Broad  Street  he  quickened  his  footsteps  as  though 
he  was  in  a  great  hurry.  He  was  soon  crossing 
Broadway  diagonally,  and  entered  Rector  Street  in 
the  same  hurried  manner  and  proceeded  west  on 
that  street  for  three  or  four  blocks,  entered  the  hall 
way  of  a  house,  the  lower  part  of  which  was  used  for 
business,  and  ascended  the  stairs  with  a  bound  such 
as  none  but  one  endowed  with  unusual  strength  of 
limb  could  take  in  a  long  flight  of  stairs.  He  opened 
a  door  on  the  first  landing  and  entered  the  room, 
which  proved  to  be  the  living  room  of  his  boarding 
house.  There  were  assembled  three  young  girls  and 
a  boy  of  seventeen  years.  Richter  apologized  to 
them  with  much  earnest  feeling. 

Of  those  assembled  one  was  the  daughter  of  his 
landlady,  a  girl  of  sixteen;  her  cousin,  a  girl  of 

306 


MISS  GOEBEL.  307 

eighteen,  and  a  particularly  bright-looking  young 
woman  of  twenty,  whose  bright  eyes  and  handsome 
face  indicated  more  intelligence  than  any  of  the  oth 
ers;  besides,  her  general  bearing  was  that  of  the 
superior  woman  and  one  possessing  refinement.  She 
was  the  niece  of  the  widow,  Mrs.  Waters,  who  occu 
pied  the  large  front  room  as  a  dressmaker,  and  her 
niece,  Miss  Ethel  Haliday,  worked  with  her,  and 
was  supposed  to  be  the  fashionable  designer  of  the 
business.  Certainly  she  looked  able  to  design  dresses 
that  would  satisfy  the  taste  of  ladies  who  wore  styl 
ish  clothes. 

They  at  once  entered  upon  the  subject  of  their 
attendance  there,  that  of  being  instructed  in  the 
rudiments  of  a  better  education  than  had  been  their 
fortune  in  the  struggle  for  a  living.  Richter  had 
introduced  methods  that  had  obtained  in  the  gym 
nasium  in  which  he  had  been  educated.  They  were 
making  such  progress  as  to  give  them  a  thirst  for 
more  knowledge,  and  they  were  all  apt  at  learning 
lessons  that  they  had  never  hoped  of  accomplishing. 
His  landlady's  daughter,  who  had  been  capable  of 
achieving  only  the  very  simplest  sums  in  arithmetic, 
had  progressed  so  favorably  that  Richter  thought 
seriously  of  trying  her  in  the  higher  mathematics. 
She  had  already  been  advanced  by  her  employer  to  a 


308   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

position  in  his  bank  connected  with  the  store  which 
had  been  filled  by  a  male,  because  of  the  necessity 
for  correct  knowledge  of  arithmetic. 

Miss  Haliday  had  shown  such  aptness  for  physi 
ology  and  philosophy  that  Richter  had  strong  suspi 
cions  that  she  was  better  educated  than  a  niece  of 
Mrs.  Waters  and  her  position  as  a  dressmaker 
would  indicate.  She  was  a  woman  of  unusual  cul 
ture  and  good  taste,  and  had  command  of  good  lan 
guage  and  ability  of  graceful  expression  far  beyond 
her  position.  Richter  found  himself  paying  a  defer 
ence  to  this  young  lady  that  he  could  not  do  to  the 
rest,  and  this  in  spite  of  his  determination  to  not  do 
so,  for  he  felt  that  it  was  a  weakness  in  man  to  bow 
down  to  mere  beauty  of  person.  She  was  cultured 
in  a  high  degree  and  of  unusually  modest  demeanor. 

When  the  work  of  the  evening  was  over,  Richter 
dressed  with  more  than  his  usual  amount  of  care, 
and  went  out. 

Miss  Haliday  was  in  the  apartment  of  her  aunt 
when  Richter  left  the  house,  and  watched  for  his 
going  with  evident  interest  from  behind  the  window 
curtain.  She  was  arrayed  in  costly  and  beautiful 
apparel,  and  with  her  hat  on  and  veil  drawn 
she  descended  the  stairs  just  as  a  closed  carriage 
drew  up  to  the  curb,  which  she  entered  and  closed 


MISS  GOEBEL.  309 

the  door,  without  giving  orders  to  the  driver,  who 
drove  away  at  a  rapid  gait. 

An  hour  after  that  event,  we  find  our  Miss  Hali- 
day,  of  the  Richter  free  class,  in  a  sitting-room  on 
the  second  floor  of  a  rich-looking  house  fronting  on 
Gramercy  Park,  in  the  presence  of  an  elderly  woman 
in  rich  attire,  evidently  her  mother,  who  said :  "Ellen, 
how  much  longer  is  this  masquerading  to  continue? 
I  do  not  like  to  have  this  matter  going  on  so  long, 
and  withholding  the  confidence  that  is  due  your 
father." 

"Mother,"  said  the  young  lady,  "you  need  give 
yourself  no  worry  in  my  little  adventure.  The  gen 
tleman  is  the  soul  of  honor,  and  shows  no  more  inter 
est  in  poor  me  than  he  does  in  the  other  girls.  Please 
let  me  have  my  way  a  little  longer,  mother  dear, 
without  telling  papa.  I  will  promise  you  that  my 
heart  shall  not  become  seriously  involved  so  long  as 
it  is  unsought ;  hence  no  danger  need  be  feared.  I 
will  not  forget  that  the  Channing  blood  courses 
through  my  veins,  and  that  my  mother,  the  best  on 
earth,  has  placed  her  daughter  on  her  honor." 

The  young  woman  bent  down  and  affectionately 
kissed  her  mother  and  went  into  her  own  room,  off 
the  sitting-room.  She  stood  motionless  at  the  win 
dow  overlooking  the  Park,  but  seeing  none  of  the 


310   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

passers-by,  though  looking  in  their  direction  all  the 
time.  Where  were  her  thoughts,  and  on  what  sub 
ject  was  her  mind  occupied. 

Thus  she  stood  when  her  mother  came  into  the 
room  and  walked  to  her  side  The  mother  placed 
her  arm  on  the  young  girl's  shoulder  and  gently 
drew  her  away  from  the  window,  and  said :  "Ellen, 
tell  me  more  of  this  young  man  in  whom  you  appear 
to  be  so  much  interested.  What  is  his  calling  and 
what  are  his  prospects." 

"Truly,  mother,  I  know  not  of  his  prospects,  ex 
cept  that  he  is  studying  law.  That  fact  was  related 
to  me  by  Mrs.  Goldstadt.  I  know  he  lectures  on 
Socialism,  but  I  do  not  know  about  his  earning  capac 
ity.  He  lives  in  the  back  room  and  dresses  plainly. 
He  is  a  gentleman  so  far  as  conduct  is  concerned; 
he  is  learned  and  good-hearted.  I  like  him  more 
than  I  ever  liked  any  man.  He  has  never  made  any 
advances  to  me,  but  he  treats  me  with  marked  re 
spect  and  deference.  Of  course  he  thinks  me  the 
niece  of  Rachel,  and  a  seamstress,  and  poor.  That 
is  all  that  I  know  concerning  him  that  is  worth 
telling." 

"But,  my  child,  what  can  you  expect?  What  can 
be  the  outcome  of  this  dangerous  adventure?" 

"Oh,  mother,  don't  call  it  an  adventure,  lest,  being 


MISS  GOEBEL.  311 

a  female,  any  other  person  classifying  me  would  say 
that  I  was  an  adventuress.  If  Mr.  Richter  knew 
papa's  position  in  the  business  world,  he  might  think 
that  he  was  in  love  with  me,  and  I  would  never,  per 
haps,  know  whether  it  was  a  son-in-law's  prospects 
that  he  was  paying  court  to  or  myself.  If  he  be 
comes  interested  in  me  through  this  class  associ- 
tion  and  professes  love  for  me,  I  will  know  that  it 
is  myself  alone  that  he  is  seeking,  and  not  papa's 
bank  account.  You  know,  mother,  that  I  have  al 
ways  dreaded  being  sought  for  my  money,  and  there 
is  no  fear  of  danger  in  this  affair.  Even  if  he 
should  learn  that  I  am  Miss  Goebel,  of  Gramercy 
Park,  and  not  Rachel's  niece,  I  would  be  in  no  dan 
ger  of  exposure,  for  he  is  of  that  fine  sense  of  honor 
that  he  never  would  give  to  the  world  my  secret; 
neither  would  he  take  advantage  of  the  knowl 
edge." 

"How  can  you  know  that,  daughter?  You  have 
only  known  him  a  short  time,  and  met  him  only  in 
the  class  as  a  supposed  charity  student." 

"Mother,  it  may  only  be  intuition  that  warrants 
me  in  such  a  declaration  of  confidence  in  the  honor 
of  a  stranger,  but  this  evening  he  was  about  a  half 
hour  late  at  the  lesson,  and  no  one  could  have  felt 
more  at  fault  than  he  showed  to  us.  If  he  had  been  in 


312      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

receipt  of  a  salary  at  our  hands,  his  apologies  could 
not  have  been  more  sincerely  expressed." 

"While  we  were  waiting,  I  was  reading  over  my 
lesson  in  philosophy,  and  did  not  enter  into  conver 
sation  with  the  others,  but  I  heard  the  two  Gold- 
stadts,  son  and  daughter,  tell  what  they  knew  of  his 
charities.  One  instance  that  they  related  was  his 
taking  the  old  tin  pail  used  for  a  coal  scuttle  by  an 
old  woman  that  lives  in  the  attic  of  their  third-story 
back  building  out  of  the  old  woman's  hand  and  car 
rying  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  ton  of  coal  for  her  up  all 
those  stairs  to  her  room.  He  had  never  known  her 
except  perhaps  to  meet  her  in  the  hall.  She  had  a 
son  who  spent  his  time  loafing  in  a  saloon  near  by, 
while  his  old  mother  was  left  to  do  that  heavy  work 
herself. 

"They  said  she  sat  at  the  door  holding  Mr.  Rich- 
ter's  coat  while  he  was  engaged  carrying  the  coal. 
She  was  on  the  lookout  for  her  son  when  he  came 
out  of  the  saloon ;  she  hurried  down  to  him  and  said  : 
'Mike,  there  is  a  mon  up  there  insultin'  ye ;  come  up 
and  defind  yerselV 

"Mike  hurried  up  to  the  door  and  said :  'Where  is 
he,  mother?'  Just  at  that  time  Mr.  Richter  came 
out  of  the  door  and  proceeded  to  fill  the  pail  without 
so  much  as  noticing  either  of  them,  when  the  old 


MISS  GOEBEL.  313 

lady  said :  'There  he  is,  Mike ;  that's  the  mon  that's 
insultin'  o'  ye.  Don't  you  see  him?  You  was 
a-loafin'  at  the  saloon,  and  a-lettin'  your  ould  mother 
lug  the  coal  up,  and  this  gintleman  took  the  scuttle 
from  out  o'  me  hands  and  went  to  wurrik,  and 
without  bein'  ast  to  do  it.  Ain't  ye  insulted, 
Moike?' 

"  'Yis,  oi  am,  mither.'  They  said  that  he  took  the 
scuttle  out  of  Mr.  Richter's  hand  and  said :  'This  is 
moy  job,  sor.  You've  1'arnt  me  a  lesson,  and  oi'm 
much  obleeged  fur  the  favor  to  me  mither,'  and 
disappeared  into  the  hall  with  the  coal.  When  Mr. 
Richter  went  to  get  his  coat  from  the  old  woman,  she 
seized  his  hand  and  covered  it  with  kisses,  while  she 
wept,  murmuring:  'God  bless  ye,  God  bless  ye.' 

"They  told  of  another  of  his  charities.  An  old 
man  who  earned  a  living  by  sawing  wood  at  a  wood- 
yard,  was  taken  sick,  and  the  family  was  soon  in 
want.  He  had  a  wife  and  an  old  maid  daughter, 
who  was  a  cripple,  and  simple-minded.  As  soon  as 
Mr.  Richter  heard  of  it  he  went  to  the  old  wife  and 
got  her  to  go  with  him  to  the  wood-yard  man,  and 
got  the  job  of  sawing  wood.  He  used  to  go  early 
in  the  morning  and  saw  enough  wood  to  earn  the 
same  amount  that  the  old  man  did,  and  the  family 
had  the  same  little  income  that  they  had  before. 


3i4      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

They  said  that  Mr.  Richter  kept  that  up  for  five 
weeks,  when  the  old  man  took  up  the  work  again." 

"He  certainly  is  a  good  man,  Ellen,  and  will  make 
a  good  husband  for  any  true  woman,"  said  the 
mother.  She  wiped  the  tears  from  her  eyes,  kissed 
the  daughter,  and  walked  up  stairs. 

The  Rachel  Waters,  widow  and  alleged  aunt  of 
Miss  Haliday,  was  a  widow  and  dressmaker,  but  was 
not  aunt  to  Miss  Goebel.  For  many  years  she  had 
been  seamstress  for  the  Goebel  family,  and  still  did 
considerable  sewing  for  them. 

Miss  Goebel  had  been  at  Mrs.  Waters's  window 
one  summer  evening,  when  Mr.  Richter  went  out  of 
the  front  door,  and  Mrs.  Waters  told  what  she  knew 
of  him  in  so  far  as  his  history  was  known  to  the 
Goldstadts,  and,  shortly  after,  Miss  Goebel  saw  him 
speaking  at  Broadway,  where  she  stopped  a  few 
minutes  and  listened.  His  voice  and  manner  of 
delivery  were  pleasing  to  her,  and  she  learned  that 
he  was  a  law-student  and  a  cultured  gentleman  of 
German  birth. 

Miss  Goebel  was  of  a  proud  and  sensitive  nature, 
and  her  greatest  dread  from  which  she  suffered  was 
the  fear  that  she  would  be  deceived  into  marrying  a 
fortune-hunter.  But  few  male  acquaintances  of  her 
social  scale  met  with  her  estimate  of  what  consti- 


MISS  GOEBEL.  315 

tuted  manhood.  Their  extravagant  ways  and  osten 
tatious  squandering  of  wealth  earned  by  their  fath 
ers  did  not  enhance  them  in  her  esteem.  She  did 
not  love  wealth  for  itself,  and  could  not  have  been 
induced  to  marry  for  the  purpose  of  doubling  her 
fortune.  She  cared  not  for  the  glittering  bauble  of 
royalty,  and  would  not  have  married  to  gain  a  title. 
Marriage  with  a  foreign  prince  or  lord  had  no  al 
lurements  for  her.  She  was  deeply  interested  with 
the  transitoriness  of  life,  and  felt  that  the  waste  of 
opportunities  for  improvement  was  profligacy,  and 
a  failure  to  confer  happiness  when  possible  was  sin 
ful.  She  believed  that  motherhood  was  a  sacred  and 
holy  duty. 

She  loved  children,  and  never  saw  a  clean-faced 
child  without  an  impulse  to  kiss  it  and  hug  it  to  her 
bosom,  and  never  saw  a  soiled-faced  child  without 
wanting  to  wash  the  little  face  and  see  what  it  looked 
like  when  clean. 

Although  she  was  termed  handsome  by  many  and 
beautiful  by  others,  she  was  not  vain.  She  loved  to 
wear  rich  and  fine  clothes,  as  she  liked  to  look  at  a 
fine  painting,  and  felt  it  her  duty  to  dress  well  and 
tastefully. 

Her  one  romantic  thought  was  that  some  good, 
intelligent  and  worthy  man  would  fall  in  love  with 


316   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

her  and  marry  her  in  ignorance  of  her  wealth.  She 
built  castles  of  happiness  and  contentment,  and  al 
ways  her  picture  had  in  its  foreground  prattling  chil 
dren  of  her  own.  All  her  imaginary  pictures  of  hap 
piness  contained  the  halo  of  maternity. 

Hers  was  a  nature  that  could  have  found  happi 
ness  in  meagre  surroundings  with  a  devoted  and 
loving  husband. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Richter  had  set  aside  three  evenings  a  week  for 
his  little  class — Mondays,  Wednesdays  and  Fridays. 
It  was  Monday  evening  that  he  had  been  late,  and 
the  Wednesday  following,  with  the  desire  to  review 
his  law  lesson,  he  went  home  earlier  than  usual,  and 
just  as  he  approached  the  steps  of  his  home,  there 
drove  up  to  the  curb  a  closed  carriage,  from  which 
a  lady  richly  dressed  and  veiled  stepped,  and  as  the 
door  swung  to  she  turned  to  ascend  the  steps  and 
came  near  to  bumping  against  Mr.  Richter,  and  this 
occasioned  a  meeting  of  their  gaze,  followed  by  rec 
ognition.  It  was  Miss  Haliday.  The  recognition 
was  unavoidable,  and  that  Richter  was  stunned  with 
surprise  was  beyond  cavil,  while  Miss  Haliday  was 
overwhelmed  with  confusion,  bordering  on  the  pain 
ful,  is  without  doubt.  Her  carriage  gone,  she  had 
but  to  brace  up  and  ascend  the  steps  as  though  noth 
ing  had  happened. 

317 


318      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Mr.  Richter  removed  his  hat  and  made  a  low 
obeisance,  preceded  her  up  the  steps,  and  held  the 
door  open  for  her  with  hat  in  hand,  while  his 
countenance  displayed  real  consternation.  Of  the 
two,  the  lady  was  the  first  to  recover  her  equanimity. 
She  ascended  the  stairs  and  entered  Mrs.  Waters's 
rooms. 

"Oh,  Rachel,  I  just  met  Mr.  Richter  at  the  steps, 
and  he  recognized  me.  What  am  I  to  do?  Let  me 
think."  And  she  entered  the  little  fitting-room  and 
sat  down.  Her  first  thought  was  to  escape  the  house 
and  seek  her  carriage  and  go  home,  and  thus  put 
an  end  to  her  romance,  when  a  wave  of  sense  fol 
lowed,  and  she  thought:  "Run  away  from  what? 
The  man  who  I  have  been  trying  to  meet?"  It 
seemed  absurd,  and  she  arose  and  changed  her  dress 
for  the  scholar's  dress,  and  then  sat  down  with  the 
book  for  the  purpose  of  concentration  of  mind.  Her 
mind  was  in  a  turmoil,  notwithstanding  her  efforts. 
It  was  full  of  conjecture  as  to  what  Mr.  Richter  was 
thinking  and  how  he  would  act  towards  her.  She 
finally  decided  that  he  was  too  much  of  a  gentle 
man  to  cause  her  any  humiliation,  and  quieted  down 
with  that  assurance.  She  knew  that  she  could 
smoothe  it  over  with  a  pretense  that  she  was  out 
seeking  a  knowledge  of  style,  but  that  would  have 


MR.  RICHTER'S  CLASS.  319 

been  false,  and  she  discarded  that  from  the  possi 
bilities. 

At  the  minute  of  time  for  recitation,  she  entered 
the  class-room,  just  as  Mr.  Richter  had  closed  the 
door  behind  him.  She  looked  at  him,  and  he  spoke 
pleasantly,  as  though  he  had  not  before  seen  her,  and 
she  returned  the  bow  and  salutation,  and  seated  her 
self  in  her  usual  place,  and  was  the  self-poised 
scholar  of  two  days  previous. 

Mr.  Richter  made  it  so  much  easier  for  her  by 
simply  forgetting  the  incident,  that  she  soon,  too, 
forgot  it.  He  treated  her  with  the  same  gentle 
manly  sense  that  had  always  characterized  his  actions 
toward  her. 

"I  suppose,  Miss  Haliday,  that  you  have  been 
reviewing  your  former  lessons  in  philosophy  and  his 
tory,  have  you  not  ?" 

"I  believe  you  did  not  mention  history,  although  I 
do  not  think  I  will  disgrace  myself  on  history,  for 
I  love  it  so  that  I  ruminated  on  it  a  little  last  night/' 
said  Miss  Haliday,  smiling. 

"History  is  so  broad  a  highway  that  scholar  and 
teacher  may  be  miles  apart  in  any  effort  to  prepare 
for  a  review,"  said  Mr.  Richter. 

"What  is  the  briefest  letter  of  which  history 
speaks,  Miss  Haliday?" 


320   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT, 

"Caesar's  letter  to  the  Roman  Senate." 

"In  what  year  did  Caesar  die  ?" 

"I  think  about  45  B.  C." 

During  the  rest  of  the  review  on  philosophy,  Miss 
Haliday  acquitted  herself  creditably. 

When  Miss  Haliday  entered  the  room  of  Mrs. 
Waters,  that  lady  was  in  a  fever  to  know  what  Rich- 
ter  said  and  how  he  acted. 

"Why,  Rachel,  if  it  was  to  him  an  incident,  he 
apparently  forgot  it,  and  so  did  I  in  five  minutes 
after  entering  the  room.  If  the  world  contained 
more  gentlemen  of  his  stamp  it  would  be  much  bet 
ter  off." 

"He  is  certainly  one  of  God's  noblemen,"  said 
Mrs.  Waters. 

Miss  Haliday  arrived  at  her  home  without  inci 
dent,  and  immediately  repaired  to  her  mother's  room 
and  related  to  that  lady  what  had  occurred. 

"Oh,  daughter,  I  feared  just  such  a  contingency." 

"But,  mother,  that  was  the  last  of  it,  and  he  never 
even  by  look  asked  an  explanation." 

"Well,  of  course,  daughter,  you  will  not  go  any 
more?" 

"Yes,  mother,  I  will  go  next  Friday,  but  that  will 
be  the  last.  You  see,  I  was  not  wrong  in  my  esti 
mate  of  the  man." 


MR.  RICHTER'S  CLASS.  321 

"I  hope  not,  although  I  do  not  feel  easy  about  your 
going." 

"Don't  fear,  mother,"  and  as  she  turned  away 
there  was  an  audible  sigh. 

When  Richter  went  to  his  room  from  the  class,  he 
sat  down  and  pondered  aloud :  "What  does  it  mean? 
She  is  educated  up  to  my  limit  and  she  is  a  lady 
always.  Perhaps  she  has  met  reverses  and  had  to 
resort  to  labor.  If  she  has  a  secret  it  is  not  for 
me  to  discover.  He  started  to  his  study  of  law,  and 
labored  far  into  the  night. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Love  is  inscrutable.  It  is  a  great  leveler,  bringing 
the  mighty  down  to  the  level  of  the  object  loved,  be 
it  peasant,  servant,  or  underling.  The  love  for  the 
child  drew  Mr.  Richter  on  the  Friday  following  his 
ride  to  Staten  Island  to  call  again  upon  her,  for 
thoughts  of  the  little  one,  and  its  self-sacrificing, 
hard-working  mother  had  haunted  him  all  the  inter 
vening  days. 

After  entering  the  hall  leading  to  the  stairs,  there 
passed  him  an  employee  of  an  undertaker,  carrying 
the  symbols  of  a  burial,  and  the  thought  took  pos 
session  of  him,  "What  if  little  Mabel  were  dead." 

It  lent  speed  to  his  already  rapid  strides,  until  he 
reached  the  door,  where  he  paused  and  knocked 
softly.  Not  knowing  what  his  coming  might  disturb, 
he  was  in  great  trepidation  during  the  few  minutes 
pending  the  attendance  at  the  door.  How  horrible 
is  the  thought  that  perhaps  some  loved  one  has  called 

322 


MABEL'S  RECOVERY.  323 

your  name  in  the  delirium  of  fever,  and  has  needed 
you  for  some  slight  service  ere  death  claimed  them. 
How  you  chide  yourself  for  permitting  material 
things  to  have  kept  you  away,  when  your  heart 
strings  were  drawing  you  to  the  side  of  the  stricken 
one.  It  was  thus  that  Richter  felt  in  the  few  seconds 
that  passed  since  he  saw  the  undertaker's  hired  man. 
Seconds  seemed  hours  since  he  knocked  on  the  door, 
and  he  was  just  about  to  knock  again  when  the  door 
opened  and  Mrs.  Plank  stood  smiling  a  welcome  on 
the  threshold.  He  saw  little  Mabel  standing  with 
her  hat  on  by  the  side  of  Mrs.  Ferguson. 

The  rubicon  had  been  passed,  and  he  was  glad  to 
accept  the  chair  tendered  him  by  Mrs.  Ferguson's 
child,  and  his  knees  felt  as  though  they  would  give 
way  under  him.  The  thought  quickly  passed 
through  his  mind  that  he  now  appreciated  for  the 
first  time  why  women  faint  after  having  undergone 
great  mental  and  physical  strain;  when  the  danger 
had  passed  there  was  no  longer  any  need  for  heroic 
effort — nature  gave  way,  and  they  were  in  oblivion. 

Mrs.  Ferguson  was  very  pleased  to  meet  him 
again.  After  shaking  his  hand  warmly,  she  said: 
"See  what  your  trip  across  the  Bay  did  for  little 
Mabel.  She  is  about  well,  and  has  just  been  prat 
tling  about  you." 


'  324   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Little  Mabel  ran  to  his  knees,  saying:  "Fse  yell 
now,  Mistah  Yittie." 

Richter  lifted  her  to  his  knees  and  looked  lovingly 
at  the  little  mite  of  humanity,  and  it  seemed  to  him 
as  though  he  had  just  rescued  her  from  the  under 
taker's  grasp. 

"Mr.  Richter,"  said  Mrs.  Plank,  "if  you  could 
have  seen  the  sudden  and  almost  miraculous  change 
for  the  better  in  Mabel  the  evening  after  you  brought 
her  home,  indeed  as  soon  as  she  awoke  from  her 
sleep,  you  would  no  doubt  have  felt  glad  and  been 
repaid  for  your  trouble  in  taking  her  on  that  boat 
ride.  You  would  have  hardly  believed  it  possible. 
She  had  such  an  appetite,  and  ate  two  bowlfulls  of 
bread  and  milk  that  you  had  so  kindly  provided,  and 
she  was  running  around  the  room  the  next  day.  I 
will  never  cease  to  thank  you  and  pray  for  you,  for 
I  think  you  saved  her  life.  And  your  bringing  this 
kind  Mrs.  Ferguson  has  been  a  god-send  to  both 
Mabel  and  me.  She  has  been  kindness  itself  ever 
since.  She  takes  little  Mabel  every  evening,  and  has 
come  for  her  now  to  take  her  again." 

"Please  don't  give  us  so  much  praise,  Mrs.  Plank. 
It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  both  to  me  and  my 
daughter." 

"I  am  exceedingly  gratified  to  see  the  remarkable 


MABEL'S  RECOVERY.  325 

change  in  Mabel,"  said  Mr.  Richter.  "Don't  let  me 
delay  you,  Mrs.  Ferguson.  I  only  ran  in  to  see  my 
little  sweetheart,  and  will  be  going  now.  If  the  salt 
air  is  doing  her  so  much  good,  pray  keep  it  up  if  you 
can.  I  am  so  busy  that  I  could  hardly  make  an  en 
gagement  for  any  afternoon." 

Mrs.  Ferguson  arose  and  with  the  children  de 
parted,  leaving  Mr.  Richter  and  Mrs.  Plank  alone. 

As  soon  as  they  had  departed,  Mrs.  Plank  said : 
"It  certainly  was  a  great  blessing,  Mr.  Richter,  that 
the  little  girl  took  such  a  fancy  to  Mabel,  for  the 
mother  has  brought  just  as  much  work  as  I  have 
been  able  to  do,  and  pays  me  twice  as  much  as  I  was 
earning  before.  It  is  all  through  you.  I  want  to 
thank  you  for  what  you  did  for  me  on  that  evening, 
for  that  which  you  brought  me  about  saved  my  life. 
I  did  not  have  a  morsel  to  eat  in  my  house,  and  could 
have  gotten  none  until  I  had  finished  the  shirts  and 
taken  them  to  the  store.  With  the  money  you  left 
me,  God  bless  you,"  said  the  woman,  sobbing,  "it 
bridged  me  over  until  Mrs.  Ferguson  called  the  next 
afternoon,  and  she  paid  me  in  advance  for  the 
sewing." 

"Mrs.  Plank,"  said  Richter,  "you  cannot  feel  more 
thankful  than  I  do  pleasure  at  the  change.  I  hope 
you  will  not  permit  yourself  to  run  down  so  again 


326   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

before  sending  me  word.  I  have  not  much  of  an 
income,  but  I  will  share  it  with  you  rather  than  you 
should  suffer.  I  must  be  going  now,  but  I  will  drop 
in  to  see  you  again  before  long." 

When  Mr.  Richter  left  Mrs.  Plank's  humble  apart 
ment  he  hurried  home  to  meet  his  engagement  with 
his  class  of  day-workers  and  evening-students. 

His  little  class  assembled  promptly,  and  the  teacher 
seemed  more  buoyant  and  enthusiastic  than  ever. 
He  seemed  to  take  special  pleasure  in  testing  Miss 
Haliday's  store  of  knowledge,  since  he  had  discov 
ered  that  her  memory  was  really  phenomenal,  and 
before  he  opened  the  book  to  commence  the  lesson, 
he  asked :  "Miss  Haliday,  tell  me,  please,  what  was 
the  prime  cause  of  the  late  rebellion  in  the  United 
States?" 

"The  desire  of  the  slaveholders  to  extend  slavery 
into  the  then  new  Territory  of  Kansas,  and  the  elec 
tion  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency,  which, 
as  the  slaveholders  divined,  meant  that  slavery  would 
not  be  thus  extended.  That  precipitated  the  breaking 
out  of  hostilities,  for  which  the  Southern  politicians 
had  been  preparing  and  planning." 

"Very  good,"  said  Mr.  Richter.  "I  have  just  been 
pursuing  that  feature  of  the  history  of  the  war,  and 
that  is  my  own  conclusion." 


MISS  HALIDAY.  327 

The  sitting  passed  off  without  anything  unusual 
happening,  and  when  they  parted  at  its  close,  Miss 
Haliday  felt  sad  that  her  meetings  with  that  inter 
esting  person  were  to  terminate.  If  she  could  only 
tell  him  why,  or  something  that  might  draw  an 
expression  of  regret  at  saying  farewell  to  her,  but 
she  had  not  the  courage  to  speak  it,  and  so  she  only 
said :  "A  change  in  my  affairs  will  not  permit  me 
to  continue  these  recitations.  I  thank  you  very  much 
for  your  kindness." 

"I  am  truly  sorry,  Miss  Haliday,"  said  Richter, 
"for  it  is  rare  that  one  meets  such  an  apt  scholar 
as  you  have  proved  yourself.  It  inspires  a  teacher 
and  is  helpful.  If  at  any  time  you  can  resume  the 
recitations,  be  assured  that  you  are  welcome." 

Thus  ended  the  one  romance  of  a  high-principled 
and  conscientious  young  woman.  She  had  gone 
as  far  as  her  idea  of  propriety  would  permit  in 
bringing  about  the  first  meeting,  and  was  forced  to 
admit  the  failure  of  her  plans.  It  was  evident  to 
her  mind  that  she  lacked  the  elements  of  pleasing 
him  or  that  his  affections  were  already  engaged  else 
where.  She  hoped  the  latter  condition  obtained,  for 
then  it  might  have  been  otherwise,  if  his  heart  had 
not  been  previously  interested  in  another. 

When  she  reached  her  home  and  was  again  the 


328   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

beautiful  Miss  Goebel,  of  Gramercy  Park,  she  went 
to  her  mother's  room  and  said:  "Mother,  I  have 
again  graduated  with  honor,  for  Mr.  Richter  com 
plimented  me  on  my  progress.  I  am  through,  and 
no  dire  calamity  followed  my  little  adventure,  as 
you  called  it,  and  it  was  attended  with  no  disgrace 
or  humiliation,  except  its  utter  failure.  My  heart 
is  safe,  for  I  kept  my  feelings  under  control  all  the 
time,  though  truly,  mother,  after  hearing  them  tell 
of  his  goodness  of  heart,  I  felt  like  putting  my  arms 
around  his  neck  and  kissing  him,  which  would  have 
been  classified,  in  the  field  of  philosophy,  as  'emo 
tional  impulse,'  and  would  have  disgraced  your 
daughter;  but  it  really  required  suppression  of  a 
strong  inclination  to  do  or  say  something  satisfying 
of  a  warm  admiration  and  approval." 

"Daughter,  I  have  no  fear  that  you  would  do  any 
thing  so  extravagant  as  that  would  have  undoubtedly 
been.  I  do  not  blame  you  for  the  feeling  of  admira 
tion  for  that  young  man,  for  I  think  he  is  unusu 
ally  deserving,  and  I  hope  it  will  fall  to  your  lot  that 
when  you  marry  it  will  be  to  such  a  good  man." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Mona  was  in  a  mood  of  introspection  one  morning 
when  the  door-bell  rang  and  Miss  Finch,  a  friend 
of  Mrs.  Douglas,  introduced  herself  as  coming  from 
that  lady  with  a  verbal  introduction. 

After  they  had  been  seated  but  a  few  minutes, 
Miss  Finch  referred  to  Mona's  new  science,  and 
expressed  herself  as  much  interested  in  it,  and  said : 
"Miss  Davidge,  will  you  submit  to  an  interview  upon 
the  subject  of  your  ethics  ?" 

"The  word  interview  smacks  of  publication.  Are 
you  a  reporter  of  a  newspaper,  may  I  ask?" 

"Yes,  I  am  a  representative  of  the  Ladies'  Depart 
ment  in  the  Daily ." 

"Then  you  will  have  to  excuse  me.  I  could  not, 
under  any  circumstances,  parade  my  simple  expe 
rience  before  the  world.  I  positively  decline  to 
submit  to  an  interview  for  publication.  While  this 
is  a  venture,  I  am  far  from  becoming  an  adventuress, 

329 


330   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

and  I  have  a  horror  for  the  notoriety  that  an  inter 
view  would  entail  upon  me.  Feeling  as  I  do,  I  am 
sure  you  would  not  wish  to  inflict  such  pain  upon  a 
sister." 

"No,  Miss  Davidge,  I  would  not.  I  saw  by  the 
pallor  of  your  face  when  I  declared  my  purpose  that 
it  would  be  excruciating  agony  to  you.  If  I  pledge 
to  you  my  honor  not  to  use  for  publication,  nor  to 
give  it  to  another  for  that  purpose,  nor  permit  it  to 
pass  from  me,  will  you  talk  freely  to  me  of  your 
purpose  and  your  aim?  Mrs.  Douglas  is  a  valued 
friend,  and  I  pledge  you,  in  the  name  of  that  friend 
ship,  which  I  would  not  violate,  that  it  shall  not  be 
used,  except  as  it  will  enlighten  my  understanding. 
I  confess  to  an  unusual  interest  in  your  course." 

"Under  your  pledge  and  the  circumstances,  I  will 
talk  to  you  as  one  sister  would  to  another.  You  can 
ask  your  questions  as  your  feelings  suggest,  and  I 
will  answer  them." 

"Please  tell  me  what  first  induced  you  to  try  this?" 

"That  would  be  very  difficult,  since  there  were  sev 
eral  motives,  each  of  which  served  in  a  degree  to 
stimulate  the  thought  into  a  determinate  stage.  Un 
happy  marriages  were  perhaps  the  most  dominant 
cause.  My  early  life,  in  fact  my  whole  life,  I  might 
say,  would  have  been  wrecked  if  my  uncle  and  aunt 


MONA  ON  EUGENICS.  331 

had  not  come  to  my  veritable  rescue  in  my  infancy, 
when  my  mother  died  of  a  broken  heart  from  the 
catastrophe  of  a  hasty  and  ill-conceived  marriage. 
As  early  in  life  as  I  possessed  sufficient  knowledge  to 
realize  and  know  that  innumerable  lives  were  wrecked 
by  their  mismating  in  marriage,  I  began  to  think  how 
I  should  escape  from  such  a  fate  when  I  should  be 
old  enough  to  marry,  and  perhaps  that  brooding  over 
the  misfortunes  of  others  brought  it  about  more  than 
any  other  one  thing." 

"Yes;  well,  what  is  your  hope,  beyond  finding  a 
suitable  husband  for  yourself?" 

"I  would  pave  the  way  for  others,  if  possible,  in 
their  study  of  self  and  man.  I  felt  the  dire  neces 
sity  for  a  reform  in  the  method,  if  there  is  method — 
I  prefer  to  say  the  absence  of  method — of  selecting 
a  life  partner.  Marriage  should  never  be  induced 
by  anything  short  of  love.  Woman  should  first 
learn  that  she  really  knows  what  love  is  before  she 
marries  any  man,  whether  he  has  unlimited  wealth  or 
is  in  poverty.  There  are  so  many  symptoms  that  are 
liable  to  move  the  woman-heart  that  are  not  love  that 
I  think  it  necessary  to  study,  not  only  those  symp 
toms  that  one  finds  tugging  at  their  heart,  but  to 
study  the  manifestations  of  the  love  that  is  offered 
them." 


33^   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"In  your  study  of  man,  do  you  mean  man  the 
beast?" 

"Well,  while  man's  brutality  is  unrestrained  le 
gally  in  his  right  to  kill  other  animals  than  his  kind, 
woman  is  protected  by  law ;  hence  he  cannot  get  rid 
of  her  in  safety  to  himself  by  taking  her  life  or  by 
selling  her  as  a  commodity.  I  shall  hope  to  deal  in 
the  study  of  man  and  woman,  too,  in  their  relation 
to  marriage  and  paternity.  The  world  at  large 
seems  to  have  yielded  to  man  complete  dominance 
over  the  lower  order  of  animals,  and  in  his  selfish 
greed  he  is  reaching  out  after  woman,  whom  he 
should,  instead,  for  the  sake  of  posterity  and  future 
ages,  uplift  and  improve." 

"You  speak  of  the  study  of  man  and  woman  in 
their  relation  to  marriage  and  paternity.  Please 
enlighten  me  as  to  the  scope  that  may  mean." 

"Take  the  human  family  as  a  mass  and  look  for 
disease  and  abnormalities,  and  you  will  find  such  a 
small  per  cent,  free  from  disease  as  to  convince 
you  that  a  system  of  some  kind  should  be  inaugu 
rated  by  which  certain  combined  ailments  should,  in 
marriage,  be  positively  prohibited  by  law." 

"  I  would  have  a  law  enacted  prohibiting  marriage 
between  persons  in  either  of  whose  family  consump 
tion,  catarrh,  dyspepsia  and  neuropathy;  of  persons 


MONA  ON  EUGENICS.  333 

in  either  of  whose  family-history  epilepsy,  insanity 
or  irrational  temperament  was  found.  Diseases  pecu 
liar  to  our  sex  which  preclude  child-bearing,  intem 
perate  users  of  intoxicants  and  deleterious  drugs. 

"Consider,  too,  the  deplorable  effect  of  a  mar 
riage  between  parties  wherein  the  blood  of  one  or 
both  of  them  is  poisoned  from  a  specific  disease.  I 
think  it  should  be  punishable  as  a  crime  against  soci 
ety  for  one  so  infected  to  be  joined  in  wedlock. 
Medical  science  scarcely  admits  of  the  exception  of 
any  constitutional  malady  not  liable  to  be  a  resultant 

"When  you  consider  that  the  posterity  from  such 
a  union  are  certain  to  be  the  subjects  of  insanity, 
epilepsy,  sterility,  or  any  one  of  innumerable  other 
horrid  diseases,  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that 
the  despicable  character  precipitating,  with  delibera 
tion  and  foreknowledge,  such  a  curse  upon  their 
children  and  their  children's  children  should  be  re 
moved  from  society. 

"The  assassin  who  takes  life  by  the  stab  of  a 
poniard  in  a  vital  part  is  no  worse  than  the  parent 
who  visits  upon  posterity  a  horrible  and  loathsome 
disease,  which  cannot  but  rob  their  descendants  of 
all  hope  of  happiness,  if  they  possess  but  a  spark  of 
self-respect. 

"I  think  medical  statistics  will  bear  me  out  in  the 


334      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

* 
statement  that  among  Americans  there  are  affected 

by: 

Dyspepsia 33  per  cent. 

Consumption   20  "  " 

Insanity  and  irrational  tem 
peraments  10  "  " 

Neuropathy   5  "  " 

Intemperate  users  of  deleteri 
ous  drugs 5  "  " 

Catarrh 40  "  " 

Bronchitis 5  "  " 

Other  diseases,  including 

those  peculiar  to  our  sex.  10  "  " 

"Why,  that  would  almost  make  marriage  prohibi 
tive,"  said  Miss  Finch.  "How  would  you  inaugu 
rate  this  system  legally." 

"I  would  appoint  a  State  Board  of  Supervision, 
to  consist  of  not  less  than  five,  one  of  whom  would 
be  a  lawyer  of  standing,  and  four  physicians;  one 
of  the  latter  an  expert  in  neurology,  one  on  pul 
monary  diseases,  one  on  insanity,  and  one  on  dis 
eases  of  women. 

"I  would  further  insist  on  a  family  medical  his 
tory  similar  to  that  now  required  in  life  insurance, 


MONA  ON  EUGENICS.          335 

and  require  the  family  physician  to  certify  as  to 
whether  there  existed  on  either  side  any  family  idio 
syncrasy,  and  what,  and  of  which  side  of  the  family 
the  candidate  for  marriage  partook." 

"Please  tell  me  what  you  mean  by  a  'family  idio 
syncrasy,  and  of  which  side  of  the  family  a  candi 
date  for  marrage  partook'  ?" 

"Go  back  to  the  diseases,  and  take  insanity  or  irra 
tional  temperament  as  idiosyncrasies.  If  there  was 
a  history  of  insanity  on  the  father's  side  of  the 
family,  and  the  applicant  was  found  to  have  an 
unusually  irritable  disposition  and  violent  passion, 
and  partook  of  the  father's  features  and  complex 
ion,  and  otherwise  differed  from  the  disposition  and 
temperament  of  the  mother,  then  it  would  be  medi 
cally  believed  that  there  was  a  predisposition  to  in 
sanity.  You  have  no  doubt  observed  that  certain 
children  in  a  family  resemble,  in  features  and  dis 
position,  some  the  father  and  some  the  mother,  and 
some  'take  after,'  as  is  the  usual  expression,  a 
sister  or  brother  of  one  of  the  parents.  Now,  in  the 
event  of  a  history  of  consumption  on  the  side  of  the 
family  to  which  this  'taking  after'  follows,  then  they 
would  be  a  candidate  for  consumption  or  insanity, 
and  should  be  refused  a  license  to  marry. 

"If  we  could  interest  man  financially  in  the  ques- 


336   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

tion  of  the  betterment  of  his  type,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  question  would  be  solved.  Man  pays  more 
attention  to  strain  in  the  raising  of  cattle,  swine 
and  fowls  than  he  does  to  the  question  of  his  own 
progeny.  Woman  must,  in  self-defense,  take  this 
subject  in  hand,  to  insure  her  own  and  her  posteri 
ty's  happiness.  She  must  stand  guard  over  her  affec 
tions,  and,  if  need  be,  suffer  a  life  of  single  blessed 
ness,  rather  than  marry  into  a  family  that  has  a 
history  of  insanity  or  of  a  disease  that  may  cause 
degeneracy  of  her  race.  If  you  marry  a  dyspeptic, 
you  can  have  no  hope  of  a  happy  life,  or  a  consump 
tive,  or  one  in  whose  ancestry  consumption  has 
found  footing,  can  you  have  hope  of  healthy  chil 
dren. 

"By  study  alone  can  you  know  that  a  man  paying 
court  to  you  has  enduring  love  for  you,  and  only  by 
introspection  can  you  know  that  the  feeling  which 
he  has  awakened  in  you  by  his  attentions  and  pro 
fessions  is  love  and  a  love  that  will  stand  a  petulant 
temper,  or  neglect  or  coarseness.  Of  all  things  that 
a  refined  nature  should  watch  intently  for,  is  evi 
dences  of  a  coarse  nature.  You  cannot  hope  to  re 
fine  a  coarse  nature." 

"Can  you  have  any  hope  of  the  Legislature  of 


MONA  ON  EUGENICS.  337 

this  State  becoming  interested  in  the  subject,  and 
legislating  along  the  lines  you  have  marked  out?" 

"I  cannot  say  that  I  have." 

"I  suppose  you  saw  the  feverish  alarm  that  took 
possession  of  the  people  and  the  newspapers  when 
they  learned  that  a  poor  unfortunate  victim  of  lep 
rosy  was  in  West  Virginia,  I  think  it  was,  and  yet 
there  was  no  danger  of  that  disease  being  communi 
cated  to  others.  Why  they  do  not  take  steps  to  pre 
vent  the  spread  of  consumption  by  preventing  the 
intermarrying  with  one  already  having  it  or  one  who 
by  inheritance  is  almost  certain  to  have  it,  is  truly 
anomalous. 

"The  more  important  question  of  suppressing  the 
introduction  or  spread  of  consumption  and  insanity 
is  met  by  enlarging  the  facilities  for  treating  the  un 
fortunates,  and  not  one  act  passed  or  dollar  appropri 
ated  for  their  extirpation. 

"When  an  epidemic  of  smallpox,  typhoid  or  yel 
low  fever,  measles  or  diphtheria  makes  its  appear 
ance  in  a  community,  enforced  vaccination,  quaran 
tine,  disinfectants,  forbidding  the  use  of  alleged  in 
fected  waters,  extermination  of  mosquitoes,  intro 
duction  into  your  system  of  lymph  from  sometimes 
questionable  sources,  are  forced  upon  a  community; 


338   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

but  in  the  case  of  consumption  and  insanity,  where 
the  whole  country  is  interested,  they  stand  around 
with  their  hands  in  their  pockets,  and  permit  the 
scourge  to  spread  without  doing  an  act  to  stop  it. 
The  only  thing  that  would  make  for  their  extermi 
nation  is  the  introduction  of  a  system  by  which  mar 
riage  is  supervised  by  the  State. 

"Contemplate  for  a  moment  the  fearful  increase  in 
consumption  alone  which  our  medical  authorities  are 
trying  to  combat.  Are  the  doctors  making  an  effort 
to  eradicate  this  menace  to  our  race  ?  No ;  they  are 
but  trying  to  reach  a  cure,  not  its  eradication." 

"Miss  Davidge,"  said  Miss  Finch,  "I  admire  your 
courage  in  the  effort  to  establish  a  cult  of  such  merit 
and  far-reaching  effect,  and  I  wish  you  the  fullest 
success.  For  my  part,  I  must  admit  that,  in  the 
absence  of  good  looks,  besides  having  to  admit  to 
thirty-odd  summers,  which  have  left  their  traces 
upon  me,  I  could  not  afford  to  refuse  any  reason 
able  offer  of  marriage,  and  I  believe  that  I  would 
accept  any  man  who  proposed  marriage  to  me,  if  I 
believed  him  able  and  willing  to  support  me,  so  that 
I  might  escape  from  the  drudgery  of  self-support; 
hence  I  could  not  afford  to  adopt  your  ethics.  My 
only  offer  of  marriage  was  from  my  own  cousin, 
and  our  families  urged  such  strenuous  opposition 


MONA  ON  EUGENICS.  339 

that  we  never  married,  and  the  young  man  went 
away,  and  has  never  since  been  heard  from ;  besides, 
I  liked  another  man  at  the  same  time,  but  he  never 
proposed." 

"Oh !  That  would  have  been  terrible.  Intermar 
riage  so  often  brings  into  the  world  inferior  intel 
lects  or  cripples  and  malformations.  In  several 
States  the  law  interferes  in  marriages  of  first  cousins, 
and  I  think  that  is  the  extent  of  its  interference." 

"I  find  that  I  must  be  going,  for  I  must  go  to  the 
office  to  see  if  there  is  any  assignment  for  me.  I 
thank  you  very  much  for  your  confidence  in  me. 
Good-bye." 

"Good-bye.  Give  my  love  to  Mrs.  Douglas  when 
you  see  her." 

When  the  young  lady  had  gone,  Mona  thought 
that  she  would  like  to  talk  to  her  mother,  and  rang 
up  her  telephone,  and  was  informed  that  her  mother 
was  on  her  way  over  to  see  her. 

In  a  very  few  minutes  her  mother  arrived.  When 
they  were  seated  and  Mona  had  taken  up  some  light 
sewing,  it  was  in  her  mind  whether  she  would  dis 
cuss  the  subject  with  her  mother  on  which  she  had 
been  thinking,  and  which  had  been  broken  in  upon 
by  Miss  Finch's  call.  She  felt  a  delicacy  in  dis 
cussing,  even  with  her  mother,  anything  pertaining 


340   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

to  the  subject  of  her  disappointments  in  Ralph. 
When  her  mother  said :  "I  just  received  a  telephone 
message  from  your  father,  Mona,  informing  me  that 
Mr.  Richter  had  been  admitted  to  the  Bar,  and  that 
Baughman  &  Meyer  had  taken  him  in  as  their  junior 
partner.  Mr.  Baughman  made  the  motion  to  admit 
him  to  the  Bar.  Your  father  says  that  the  firm  is 
an  able  one,  with  a  very  large  practice,  and  that 
Richter's  prospects  are  very  good." 

"Oh,  mama,  I  am  so  glad  to  hear  that.  Mr.  Rich 
ter  seems  to  be  very  worthy  and  upright.  I  won 
der,  mother,  if  he  is  in  love.  I  thought  his  con 
ception  of  woman's  greatest  charm  was  really  his 
estimate  of  the  woman  he  could  love  or  already 
loved,  and  indicated  to  me  that  his  heart  was  already 
occupied  with  a  devotion  for  some  one." 

"I  think,  daughter,  that  Mr.  Richter  is  already  in 
love  with  his  ideal  of  womankind.  I  like  Mr.  Rich 
ter  very  much,  and  hope  he  may  not  be  disappointed 
by  paying  homage  to  a  woman  where  his  hopes  can 
not  be  realized." 

"So  do  I.  I  suppose  he  will  call  upon  us  to 
morrow  evening.  Of  course,  he  will  wish  to  spend 
the  first  evening  after  this  great  triumph  with  the 
lady  of  his  choice.  I  hope  she  may  be  entirely 
worthy  of  him  and  his  love.  I  should  like  to  see  the 


MONA  ON  EUGENICS.  341 

woman  who  has  attained  the  high  conception  of 
Mr.  Richter's  enthusiasm.  She  would  have  to  be 
intelligent,  for  I  do  not  think  he  could  endure  life 
with  one  not  at  least  approaching  him  in  intelli 
gence." 

Mona's  mother  eyed  her  closely  and  in  seeming 
surprise.  She,  as  well  as  all  others  who  had  met 
Richter  in  Mona's  parlor,  had  plainly  seen  that  he 
seldom  looked  away  from  her  face,  hanging,  as  it 
were,  on  her  every  sentence,  and  showing  in  every 
way  deep  devotion  and  admiration  for  her. 

She  said  significantly :  "No  doubt  he  will  be  found 
to-night,  theoretically,  at  least,  at  the  feet  of  his 
soul's  inspiration.  Your  father  and  I  will  come  over 
this  evening."  The  ladies  parted,  and  Mona  re 
sumed  her  work  at  the  table.  She  seemed  really 
happy  over  the  subject  of  Richter's  success,  and 
looked  forward  to  his  coming  with  the  news  that 
he  must  know  would  give  them  real  pleasure. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Ralph  came  home  earlier  than  usual  that  evening, 
and  was  manifestly  not  feeling  at  ease,  and  while  at 
dinner  was  silent  most  of  the  time.  Mona,  noticing 
his  quiet  manner,  thought  she  would  not  attempt  to 
entertain  him,  thinking  best  to  let  the  humor  take  its 
course,  undirected  by  anything  she  should  say  or  do. 
She  had  concluded,  previously,  that  if  Ralph  was 
of  such  a  changeable  nature,  she  desired  to  know  it 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  after  several  commonplace 
remarks  about  food  and  rising  prices,  which  were 
evidently  of  no  interest  to  Ralph  in  his  present  state 
of  mind,  she  relapsed  into  silence,  and  the  meal  was 
ended  by  Ralph  excusing  himself,  rising,  and  retir 
ing  to  his  room.  Inasmuch  as  he  did  not  close  his 
bedroom  door,  Mona  followed  him  when  she  had  fin 
ished  her  tea,  and,  knocking  lightly,  pushed  the  door 
back  and  asked  Ralph  if  he  felt  ill.  He  replied  in  the 
negative,  asked  her  to  excuse  him,  and  said  that  he 

842 


RALPH  MOODY.  343 

would  join  her  in  the  sitting-room  presently.  Mona 
returned  and  busied  herself  with  the  dishes,  desiring 
to  get  them  disposed  of  before  her  parents  called,  as 
promised  by  her  mother  in  the  morning.  She  was 
surprised  at  how  little  this  second  evidence  of  ill- 
humor  on  the  part  of  Ralph  disturbed  her  equa 
nimity.  She  seemed  more  interested  in  watching  it 
out  and  determining  the  cause,  if  cause  should  ever 
thereafter  be  discernible. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davidge  called  unusually  early, 
being  desirous  of  anticipating  Richter's  call,  feeling 
sure  that  he  would  visit  Ralph  and  Mona  that 
evening. 

When  the  Davidges  were  on  the  threshold,  Ralph 
came  into  the  sitting-room  and  was  standing  in  the 
centre,  hence  it  appearing  that  he  had  arisen  to 
receive  them.  He  received  them  with  effusive  pleas 
ure  on  his  countenance  and  with  hearty  handshaking. 
His  change  of  demeanor  mystified  Mona  not  a  lit 
tle,  and  she  asked  herself  what  had  brought  about 
the  change,  and  whether  she  had  become  persona  non 
grata  without  any  act  of  intentional  fault  on  her 
part.  Before  the  reception  of  the  Davidges  was  com 
plete,  there  was  another  tinkling  of  the  hall  bell,  and 
Ralph  moved  as  though  intending  to  go  to  the  door, 
but  the  servant  closing  her  door  with  an  unusual 


344   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

jar,  he  knew  that  she  was  then  attending  to  the  vis 
itor,  who  was  just  then  ushered  in,  and  it  proved  to 
be  Mr.  Richter,  jubilant  and  smiling. 

Mr.  Richter  advanced  into  the  room  and  toward 
Mona,  who  received  him  surprisedly,  for,  of  all  per 
sons  known  to  her,  she  did  not  expect  him  on  this 
evening.  She,  all  unconscious  of  being  so,  was  the 
focus  of  three  pairs  of  eyes.  She  was  looking  in 
tently  and  kindly  at  Richter,  and  then  turned  her 
eyes  upon  Ralph,  wondering  if  he  had  known  that 
Richter  was  intending  to  call,  and  whether  that 
knowledge  had  been  the  reason  for  his  strange  silence 
at  dinner.  She  had  not  reached  any  solution  ere 
Mr.  Davidge,  advancing  and  addressing  Mr.  Richter, 
said :  "Mr.  Richter,  I  heartily  congratulate  you  upon 
your  deserved  success  both  in  passing  the  examina 
tion  and  in  being  admitted  to  the  Bar,  but  especially 
on  your  having  so  soon  gained  an  enviable  footing 
before  the  public  as  a  member  of  the  distinguished 
firm  to  which  you  have  attached  yourself." 

"I  feel  very  happy  over  your  felicitations,  Mr. 
Davidge,  but  I  am  surprised  to  find  you  already  in 
possession  of  the  facts.  My  object  in  coming  here 
to-night  was  to  surprise  Mr.  Guy  and  Miss  Davidge 
with  the  news." 

Mona  shook  hands  with  Mr.  Richter,  and  said: 


MR.  RICHTER'S  SUCCESS.          345 

"Mr.  Richter,  when  mama  informed  me  to-day  of 
your  proud  success,  I  was  very  much  gratified,  and 
tender  you  my  very  warmest  congratulations.  You 
have  every  reason  to  feel  elated  and  proud.  I  feel 
sure  that  you  will  win  success  at  the  Bar.  I  will 
watch  your  career  with  great  interest." 

Mr.  Richter  was  quite  overcome  with  emotion 
when  he  sat  down,  and  his  voice  was  husky  when  he 
essayed  to  speak. 

"I  was  filled  with  trepidation  when  I  appeared  be 
fore  the  examination  committee.  It  was  no  relief  to 
me  to  find  Mr.  Meyer  on  the  committee,  for  it  was 
from  his  library  that  the  text-books  used  by  me  were, 
as  I  thought,  surreptitiously  borrowed ;  but  after  my 
approval  by  the  committee,  Mr.  Meyer  surprised  me 
by  saying  that  he  had  known  for  some  time  that  I 
was  provided  with  books  from  his  library,  and  he 
informed  me  that  it  was  with  his  consent.  He  said, 
too,  that  he  always  asked  to  see  the  books  when 
they  were  returned,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  or 
observing  my  habits  as  indicated  by  the  care  of  the 
books." 

"Do  you  intend  to  enter  upon  your  new  duties  at 
once  with  the  firm?"  asked  Mr.  Davidge. 

"I  have  already  reported,  been  given  a  desk,  and 
I  have  looked  over  a  case  which  they  wish  me  to 


346   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

present  next  Monday.  They  informed  me  that  they 
will  not  embarrass  me  be  their  presence,  but  that 
their  stenographer  will  be  present  and  take  notes, 
so  that  they  may  be  able  to  advise  me  as  to  the 
methods,  if  I  require  it." 

"That  is  very  considerate  of  them,"  said  Mr. 
Davidge. 

"I  am  put  upon  my  merit,  just  as  if  I  were  alone, 
and  will  win  or  lose  my  first  case  on  my  own  merits. 
They  will  not  even  consult  me  unless  I  request  it." 

"Well  do  I  remember  the  first  case,"  said  Mr. 
Davidge,  "in  which  I  took  any  part.  It  was  a  pen 
sion  case  involving  back-pay  of  about  four  thousand 
dollars;  my  client  being  consumptive  from  his  war 
service,  was  disabled  for  so  many  years  that  he 
would  have  been  entitled  to  a  high  rating,  for  about 
nineteen  years.  The  case  was  not  a  court  case,  but 
was  specially  examined,  before  a  Special  Examiner, 
up  in  Delhi." 

"Did  you  win  ?"  asked  Mona. 

"No;  the  examiner  had  made  a  special  study  of 
the  case  and  understood  it  better  than  I  did.  Our 
principal  witness  testified  to  the  perfect  health  of  my 
client  when  a  certain  house  was  built,  that  he  had 
worked  with  him  at  painting  the  house,  and  knew 
him  to  be  as  able  to  work  as  he,  the  witness,  was. 


MR.  RICHTER'S  SUCCESS.          347 

My  client  confirmed  it  all,  and  clinched  the  nails 
that  our  witness  drove,  and  the  case  hinged  on  that. 
The  Special  Examiner  seemingly  fought  the  witness 
and  the  claimant  to  the  limit,  making  them  reiterate 
the  house  on  which  they  worked,  the  name  of  its 
owner,  the  part  of  the  work  executed  by  my  client, 
and  required  the  testimony  of  the  owner,  Judge 

,  and  his  wife,  who,  being  anxious  to  get  into 

their  house,  were  almost  daily  visitors  to  urge  the 
progress  of  the  work.  During  all  this  time  the 
examiner  said  not  a  word  about  the  time  of  the  year, 
nor  the  year  when  the  house  was  built,  and  I  de 
pended  upon  the  date  given  me  by  my  client.  Well, 
when  the  Special  Examiner  had  tired  us  all  out  by 
reiteration,  he  asked  the  Judge,  who  was  the  last 
witness,  whether  the  tablet  built  into  his  porch  was 
the  date  of  its  building,  and  further  if  the  tablet 
showed  the  house  was  built  in  '64.  The  witness  re 
plied  in  the  affirmative,  and  inasmuch  as  my  client 
was  discharged  in  the  spring  of  '62,  we  lost  the  case. 
The  examiner  had  studied  deeper  than  we,  and  knew 
the  details  of  the  case  better  than  I  did,  and  he  led 
us  to  the  ditch  we  had  dug  and  pushed  us  in.  It  was 
a  valuable  lesson  for  me,  and  I  never  forgot  it." 

After  the  laughter  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Davidge 
had  subsided,  the  Davidges  arose  to  go,  as  did  Mr, 


348   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Richter.  Ralph  handed  Mr.  Davidge  a  cigar,  and 
offered  one  to  Mr.  Richter,  who  refused  it,  and  after 
lighting  his  cigar,  excused  himself  to  Mona,  and 
walked  out  with  them. 

Mona,  being  left  to  herself,  had  an  opportunity  to 
ponder  over  the  conditions  presented.  It  was  evi 
dent  to  her  from  the  fact  that  Ralph  was  not  sur 
prised,  having  made  no  remark  regarding  Rich- 
ter's  affairs,  that  he  knew  of  the  matter  before  com 
ing  home. 

"Why  did  he  not  tell  me  of  it?"  she  asked  her 
self.  The  whole  thing  had  a  color  of  mystery,  and 
she  determined  to  watch  for  developments. 

Ralph  returned  in  the  course  of  a  half  hour,  and 
found  Mona  still  engaged  with  her  needle  at  her 
sewing  table.  He  seated  himself  and  took  up  the 
evening  paper,  as  if  to  read,  but  Mona  was  not  to 
be  ignored  that  way.  "Do  you  not  feel  well,  dear?" 
asked  Mona. 

"I  feel  as  well  as  usual,"  said  Ralph. 

"Is  there  not  something  troubling  your  mind — 
some  business  worry?"  persisted  Mona. 

"No,  I  feel  as  well  as  a  man  could  be  expected  to 
who  sees  slipping  away  from  him  the  dearest  object 
in  the  world  to  him." 

"What  can  that  be,  dear?" 


MONA  DISTURBED.  349 

"Yourself." 

"Oh,  how  can  you  say  that,  Ralph  ?" 

"Well,  I  am  convinced  that  I  do  not  measure  up  to 
your  estimate  of  an  ideal  man,  which  means,  of 
course,  that  you  will  not  become  my  wife." 

"Not  of  necessity,"  said  Mona.  "I  am  not  silly 
enough  to  expect  to  find  my  ideal  man,  much  less 
gain  such  a  one  for  my  husband.  Since  there  are 
so  few  ideal  men,  I  cannot  expect  to  monopolize  the 
market.  The  ideal  man  ought  to  be  as  pure  morally 
as  the  woman  he  weds.  If  there  were  but  a  suspi 
cion  that  I  had  ever  been  untrue  to  my  womanhood 
you  would  not  seek  me  for  a  wife;  you  would  not 
think  me  good  enough  for  you.  You  men,  collec 
tively,  are  superlatively  inconsistent.  You  lead  a 
life  far  from  moral  with  impunity,  and  would  think 
woman  quixotic  were  she  to  raise  the  point  of  chas 
tity  against  the  seeker  for  her  hand.  You  even  go 
farther  by  saying:  'Of  course,  I  have  had  affairs 
with  women;  what  of  it?  all  men  have.'  This 
brazen  immorality  we  women  must  accept  as  a  mat 
ter  of  course.  There  is  a  lax  of  morality  amongst 
men  that  may  account  for  their  physical  degeneracy, 
a  fact  positively  known  of  the  rising  generation  of 
men  by  men  of  science.  I  acknowledge  that  when  a 
woman  assumes  the  marital  relation  with  a  man  and 


350      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

takes  his  name,  it  is  a  sacred  duty  to  have  her  do  all 
she  can  to  make  that  name  respected,  to  the  end  that 
her  posterity  may  ever  feel  a  pride  in  it.  I  go  further, 
and  say  that  she  owes  it  to  her  husband  to  keep 
unsullied  the  name  he  gives  her.  Her  past  should 
be  a  sealed  book,  just  as  sacredly  sealed  as  that  of 
the  man.  I  never  estimated  you  as  my  ideal  man. 
It  is  true  that  I  have  seen  traits  in  your  character  that 
I  do  not  like,  but  they  are  not  so  grave  that  I  would 
be  justified  in  refusing  you  for  my  husband  because 
of  them.  No  doubt  you  have  found  traits  in  me 
that  do  not  measure  up  to  your  ideal  woman,  and 
your  chivalry  would  perhaps  lead  you  to  be  silent. 
When  I  entered  upon  this  contract,  I  did  so  upon 
an  equal  footing  with  yourself  as  regards  your  right 
to  terminate  it  at  any  time,  and  I  barred  myself  from 
raising  any  points  of  privilege  on  the  question  on 
account  of  my  sex." 

"Has  your  father  or  mother  said  anything  to  you 
relative  to  whether  you  have  been  disappointed  or 
otherwise?" 

"Not  one  word,  one  way  or  the  other." 
"Well,  dear,  I  am  no  better  perhaps  than  the  aver 
age  man,  and  no  worse.    I  admit  that  in  the  estima 
tion  of  the  world,  woman  gets  the  worst  of  it,  and 
is  not  given  a  fair  show." 


MONA  DISTURBED.  351 

"As  a  virtuous  woman,  I  am  not  demurring  at 
custom  demanding  that  strict  code  of  womanhood; 
but  I  rebel  at  the  inconsistency  and  nerve  of  man. 
He  may  be  a  roue  of  the  worst  type,  but  he  will 
scan  the  woman's  character,  whom  he  desires  to 
marry,  as  though  he  had  the  right,  while  if  she 
or  her  friends  were  to  raise  the  point  of  his  past 
life,  he  would  raise  his  brows  at  their  temerity. 
What  is  man,  that  he  makes  laws  for  woman  which 
do  not  apply  with  equal  force  to  himself?  It  cannot 
be  for  any  love  for  virtue  on  his  part,  for  it  is  appar 
ent  that  he  has  none. 

"I  cannot  change  the  condition,  and  it  would  be 
futile  for  me  to  try.  There  is  no  reason,  though, 
why  woman  should  not,  of  right,  expect  the  same 
standard  of  morality  in  man  that  he  expects  to  hold 
her  to.  I  say  reason,  but  as  society  is  now  consti 
tuted  she  would  be  laughed  at  and  jeered  were  she 
to  attempt  to  do  so." 

"If  you  do  not  feel  justified  in  rejecting  me,  why 
cannot  you  put  an  end  to  this  test  study  at  once, 
and  become  my  wife  now,  instead  of  prolonging  it?" 

"Because  I  do  not  yet  feel  that  I  love  you  suffi 
ciently  to  take  you  for  better  or  for  worse.  You 
have  not  measured  up  to  the  standard  that  I  believe 
may  be  found,  and  I  certainly  am  not  so  deeply  in 


352   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

love  that  I  could  love  your  foibles  for  yourself.  If 
you  were  to  insist  upon  a  determination  of  the  ques 
tion  at  present,  I  would  be  forced  to  decide  nega 
tively,  out  of  justice  to  you,  because  it  would  be 
criminally  wrong  for  me  to  marry  you  as  I  at 
present  feel.  I  feel  that  marriage  without  love  is 
but  a  species  of  concubinage  little  removed  from  a 
life  of  adultery.  You  want  the  entire  love  of  the 
woman  you  marry  and  to  whom  you  give  your  name, 
and  it  ought  to  be  a  life  covenant,  and  the  love  going 
with  it  one  that  will  endure  adversity  happily,  one 
that  would  kiss  the  crown  of  thorns  that  pierces 
the  flesh.  Such  a  love  I  could  not  now  give ;  less  you 
do  not  want." 

Ralph  terminated  the  discussion  by  again  lifting 
the  paper  and  reading  or  scanning  it  in  silence. 
Mona  resumed  her  sewing,  feeling  the  while  that  if 
Ralph  were  to  express  his  mind,  it  would  be  in  bit 
ter  disappointment,  and  perhaps  he  would  say  things 
that  she  would  not  endure.  If  now  married,  would 
he  not  say  the  bitter  things  that,  once  said,  could  not 
be  recalled,  but  would  rankle  and  gnaw  at  the  wife's 
heart  forever  after  ?  Was  it  such  a  scene  that  led  to 
the  separation  of  her  parents,  and  which  caused  the 
desertion  and  heart-break  of  her  mother? 

Mona  then  recorded  a  solemn  vow  that  was  soon 


MONA  DISTURBED.  353 

to  play  an  important  part  in  their  destinies.  Her 
feelings  were  hurt,  and  she  excused  herself  and  re 
tired  to  her  room  without  an  attempt  at  smoothing 
out  the  difficulties.  In  her  room  she  secured  her 
diary  and  made  a  memorandum. 

This  little  tilt  took  her  mind  to  her  deceased 
mother's  memory,  and  her  heart  was  saddened,  for 
her  own  wee  face  that  her  heartbroken  mother  had 
wept  over  as  her  life  ebbed  away  was  before  her 
in  a  picture  taken  by  her  aunt  as  soon  as  she  came 
to  them.  Mona  looked  at  the  little  features  and 
chubby  hands  long  and  silently  ere  she  placed  it  away 
into  its  secure  niche  in  the  trunk. 

Thoughts  of  her  mother  always  saddened  Mona, 
and  the  last  sad  scene  of  her  parents'  quarrel,  with 
its  memory  of  a  departing  father,  never  to  return 
and  never  to  be  again  heard  of,  presented  itself  to 
night  more  indelibly  than  ever  before,  and  the  har 
rowing  question  would  not  down :  "What  would  he 
have  said  if  we  were  now  husband  and  wife?" 

Mona  retired  without  hearing  from  Ralph,  and 
slept  well.  She  did  not  permit  the  incident  to  cause 
her  to  lose  any  sleep.  She  had  no  part  in  its  origin, 
was  in  no  manner  responsible  for  Ralph's  mental 
condition  when  he  returned  home,  and  so  dismissed 
it  from  her  mind.  Not  so  with  Ralph,  however.  He 


354   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

found  nothing  in  the  evening  paper  that  held  his 
attention,  and  he  kept  turning  the  paper  in  the  dis 
satisfied  manner  of  a  person  whose  nerves  are  much 
disturbed.  He  cast  many  glances  toward  Mona's 
door,  and  before  leaving  his  chair  he  held  the  paper 
down  on  his  knee  and  gazed  absentmindedly  for  some 
time  in  the  same  direction,  and  then  slowly  arose, 
turned  out  the  light,  went  to  his  own  room  and 
retired,  but  not  to  rest.  When  the  clock  in  the 
cupola  of  the  neighboring  church  rang  out  the 
midnight  hour,  he  was  still  tossing  restlessly  on 
his  bed. 

Mona  was  up  and  at  her  work  in  the  dining-room 
at  the  usual  hour.  She  showed  around  her  mouth 
the  same  set  firmness  that  characterized  her  features 
when,  in  argument,  she  had  uttered  any  fact  upon 
which  she  was  firmly  convinced,  and  she  looked  per 
fectly  satisfied  with  herself. 

When  Ralph  came  to  breakfast,  he  approached 
Mona  and  saluted  her  with  a  kiss,  saying:  "If  I 
said  anything  last  night  to  cause  you  unrest,  I  am 
sorry,  Mona,  dear." 

"Not  at  all.  I  rested  well  and  got  my  usual 
amount  of  sleep."  The  breakfast  was  a  very  tempt 
ing  one,  and  the  biscuits  that  Ralph  was  so  very 


MONA  DISTURBED.  355 

fond  of  were  done  to  a  turn,  and  he  was  full  of 
praise  of  them.  He  was  more  than  usually  chatty. 

"It  is  quite  a  while  since  you  have  been  down  to 
my  office,  dear,"  said  Ralph.  "Are  you  intending 
to  be  down-town  to-day?  If  you  are,  and  will  come 
to  the  office  by  half -past  three,  I  will  come  home  with 
you." 

"If  I  get  down  that  far,  I  will,  but  I  do  not  think 
I  will  go  below  the  art  store  on  Forty-second  Street. 
If  I  am  not  there  by  three  o'clock,  do  not  expect 
me,"  said  Mona. 

In  bidding  her  good-bye,  he  manifested  more  af 
fection  than  usual. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

One  morning  Mona  had  returned  from  marketing 
and  taken  in  hand  some  little  repairing,  when  the 
bell  rang  and  a  young  woman  was  ushered  in.  She 
looked  haggard,  and  was  about  thirty  years  old,  had 
features  that  were  comely,  but  she  had  never  been 
beautiful,  and  out  of  them  shone  a  pair  of  eyes 
brown  in  color,  and  from  which  grief  stared  wildly. 
She  was  dressed  in  a  tailor-made  suit  of  the  brown 
cloth  so  popular,  showing  a  trim  figure  that  was 
thin  even  to  emaciation. 

Mona  saw  that  the  lady  was  unhappy,  and  her 
heart  sympathized  warmly  ere  the  visitor  had  spoken. 
She  asked  her  to  be  seated,  and  the  lady  presented 
her  card,  saying: 

"I  am  Marion  Lovelace,  from  Amesbury,  Massa 
chusetts,  and  am  a  stranger  to  you.  I  believe  you 
have  a  great  friend  in  Dr.  Morrison's  wife." 

356 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.          357 

"Yes,"  said  Mona,  "I  belong  to  Dr.  Morrison's 
church.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  friends  of  mine. 
Do  you  know  them?" 

"I  only  know  of  them  through  a  friend  who  met 
them  while  visiting  in  New  York  recently.  My 
friend  heard  of  you  through  them,  and  when  I 
wanted  your  address,  she  sent  to  the  Morrisons  and 
got  it  for  me. 

"Please  pardon  this  unusual  visit  from  a  stranger, 
Miss  Davidge.  I  am  a  heartbroken  woman,  and  I 
feel  that  if  I  cannot  unburden  my  mind  to  some  one 
I  must  go  mad.  You,  being  a  sympathetic  woman, 
can  understand  it,  even  if  your  cup  of  sorrow  has 
not  been  filled  to  the  brim,  as  mine  has.  I  cannot 
go  to  my  parents,  for  they  are  the  indirect,  though 
innocent,  cause  of  my  sorrow  in  their  mistaken  zeal 
to  have  me  what  they  call  'well  married,'  as  they 
thought.  Pardon  me,  before  I  say  any  more,  but 
can  you  spare  the  time  to  a  stranger  ?" 

"Certainly  I  can,  and  if  I  can  do  anything  to 
alleviate  your  suffering  I  will  promise  an  effort." 

"All  that  I  shall  ask  of  you  is  that  you  will  lis 
ten  to  my  heart-breaking  story." 

"Please  proceed.  Perhaps  if  I  resumed  my  sewing 
you  could  tell  it  with  more  ease  than  if  I  were  look 
ing  at  your  face." 


358   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Perhaps  I  can.  May  I  ask  if  you  are  not  inter 
ested  in  a  new  cult  or  something?" 

"I  am  an  advocate  of  the  study  of  man  and  of 
self  before  permitting  a  permanent  tie  of  marriage. 
In  a  word.  I  advocate  courtship  by  living  together, 
during  which  time,  by  introspection  and  a  study  of 
my  fiance,  I  may  be  convinced  that  a  bond  of  love 
truly  exists  before  I  will  give  my  hand  in  marriage." 

"That  is  it,  just  as  I  heard.  Oh,  Miss  Davidge, 
if  I  had  but  made  such  a  study,  I  would  not  be 
to-day  the  heart-broken  woman  you  see  before  you. 
Now,  before  I  begin,  please  promise  me  that  if  you 
tire  of  my  story  you  will  let  me  know,  and  I  will 
cease:" 

"I  promise  you,  dear  woman,  that  I  will  not  tire 
of  it,  for  you  have  my  heartiest  sympathy  already, 
and  if  I  gather  correctly  the  few  facts  you  have 
already  uttered,  you  are  but  another  example  of  the 
many  marriages  that  are  ill-conceived  and  entered  in 
to  with  too  much  haste,  and  serve  to  convince  me  that 
something  is  badly  needed  to  arrest  this  perilous  and 
demoralizing  state  of  things." 

"Too  true,  too  true,  Miss  Davidge,"  said  Mrs. 
Lovelace,  with  eagerness.  "To  begin,  my  parents 
and  the  parents  of  my  husband  were  very  intimate 
and  close  friends  before  and  ever  since  their  mar- 


A"  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.          359 

riages.  Since  marriage  they  have  lived  next-door 
neighbors,  and  their  friendship  is  so  close  that  they 
have  but  few  friends  elsewhere. 

"When  my  husband  was  born  he  was  named  and 
christened  after  my  father,  Joseph  Herbert.  When 
I  was  born  I  was  named  Marion  Lovelace,  after  his 
mother. 

"This  will  indicate  the  close  ties  of  friendship 
between  our  parents,  which  existed  before  and  after 
my  and  my  husband's  birth.  Living  such  close 
neighbors,  we  children  were  constantly  thrown  to 
gether,  and  when  we  started  to  week-school  we  went 
hand  in  hand,  as  well  as  to  Sunday-school.  To  make 
the  conditions  that  finally  led  to  our  marriage  a  cer 
tainty,  our  parents  were  always  saying  that  when 
we  grew  up  to  be  man  and  woman  we  should  be  hus 
band  and  wife.  When  they  wanted  to  chide  and 
make  me  feel  badly,  they  generally  asked  me  if 
when  I  were  Herbert's  wife  I  should  commit  that 
same  act. 

"That  condition  continued  until  we,  too,  felt  that 
as  a  matter  of  course  we  would  marry  when  we 
grew  up. 

"When  I  was  nineteen  and  Herbert  was  nearing 
his  twenty-first  birthday,  Herbert's  father  bought 
a  parcel  of  ground  in  the  block  in  which  we  all  lived. 


360   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

It  was  frequently  mentioned  that  when  we  were 
married  our  parents  were  intending  to  build  a  house 
for  us  and  furnish  it  complete. 

"  'When  we  should  be  married'  was  iterated  and 
reiterated  until  we,  at  least  I  did,  felt  that  it  was  a 
settled  fact,  and  that  we  must  get  married  sooner 
or  later. 

"Herbert  never  asked  me  to  be  his  wife,  nor  did 
he  ever  propose  to  me  as  young  men  usually  do. 
Really  he  never  told  me  that  he  loved  me,  nor  I  him. 

"His  father  and  mother  had  been  out  riding  one 
evening,  and  when  they  returned  Herbert  and  I  were 
playing  croquet  in  our  front  yard,  and  they  called 
us  to  get  in  and  ride  with  them.  They  took  us  to 
a  new  part  of  the  town,  where  many  houses  had  just 
been  erected,  and  showed  us  a  particularly  pretty 
seven-room  house  or  cottage,  and  asked  me  if  I 
should  like  my  house  to  be  built  like  that  one. 

"The  subject  had  been  so  hammered  into  me  that 
it  had  no  more  interest  to  me  than  when  my  mother 
would  ask  my  opinion  of  a  piece  of  dress-goods  that 
she  contemplated  buying  me  a  dress-pattern  off.  It 
being  settled  that  we  were  to  marry  each  other,  it 
seemed  but  a  part  of  our  religion  (all  of  us  being 
Presbyterian)  that  it  was  foreordained.  Certainly, 
our  parents  had  foreordained  it,  and  we  accepted 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.          361 

that  as  we  had  our  religion,  never  thinking  to  demur 
or  protest. 

"I  know  of  nothing  that  would  be  more  likely  to 
break  up  the  friendship  of  years  than  that  either 
of  us  had  said  that  one  did  not  love  the  other,  and 
did  not  wish  to  marry.  I  think  such  temerity  would 
have  led  to  disownment  and  disinheritance." 

"Did  your  mother  never  ask  you  if  you  loved 
your  husband?"  asked  Mona,  with  surprise  in  her 
inflection. 

"Never;  I  supposed  I  loved  him  and  took  it  for 
granted  that  Herbert  loved  me,  although  he  never 
manifested  any  warmth  toward  me.  When  he  re 
turned  after  an  absence,  he  would  kiss  me  in  the 
same  matter-of-fact  way  as  he  would  his  mother. 
There  was  never  any  fondling  of  me  before 
marriage. 

"Well,  we  were  married  when  I  was  nearing  my 
nineteenth  birth-day.  We  took  a  trip  to  Boston,  and 
thence  to  Montreal  and  Quebec,  and  were  absent 
about  three  weeks,  and  when  we  returned  our  new 
home  had  been  thoroughly  furnished  and  ready  for 
us,  so  our  baggage  was  ordered  sent  there,  and  our 
parents  gave  us  a  house-warming,  as  we  call  it  in  the 
East. 

"Bert  had  become  a  shoe  drummer  before  our 


362      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

marriage.  He  was  of  a  quiet  temperament,  and  had 
never  been  at  all  fast,  as  are  the  young  men  of  our 
town.  He  was  librarian  of  our  Sunday-school,  and 
later  was  the  superintendent  of  the  school.  Although 
traveling,  he  generally  got  home  Sundays  until  last 
Fall,  when  he  took  a  larger  field  of  travel.  Since 
then  he  has  been  away  three  months  at  a  time. 

"You  must  think  this  story  of  my  life  common 
place,  and  perhaps  do  not  care  to  hear  the  rest  of 
it." 

"Oh,  yes,  I  do;  I  realize  that  that  which  you 
have  thus  far  related  is  but  a  prelude  to  that  which 
wrecked  your  life,  and  if  you  have  come  from 
Massachusetts  to  relate  it  to  me,  it  must  contain  a 
tragedy,  and  I  want  to  hear  it  all." 

"Quite  true;  my  life  up  to  a  few  months  ago 
was  commonplace,  when  an  event  occurred  which 
has  indeed  been  a  tragedy,  I  assure  you,  and  it  has 
nearly  upset  my  reason.  Our  parents'  influence  pre 
cipitated  a  state  of  affairs  that  your  ethics,  if  I 
understand  it  aright,  would  have  saved  us  from." 

"Please  proceed  in  your  own  way.  I  am  all  inter 
est,  and  I  hope  to  be  saved  from  such  a  calamity 
as  has  befallen  you,  dear  woman,"  said  Mona 
feelingly. 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.          363 

"God  helping  you,  you  may.  From  what  I  have 
been  told  of  your  ethics,  a  repetition  of  my  unfor 
tunate  experience  is  impossible  to  a  sensible  woman. 
Well,  we  drifted  along  smoothly,  and  a  babe  was 
born,  and  died.  The  year  past  my  husband  has 
been  away  from  home  so  much  that  his  home 
coming  was  the  only  event  to  me.  I  will  now  tell 
you  that  of  which  all  that  I  have  related  is  but  a 
prelude,  and  how  it  was  unexpectedly  forced  upon 
me  like  the  coming  of  lightning  from  a  clear  sky. 

"Herbert,  at  the  last  moment  before  leaving  home 
on  one  of  his  trips,  bought  a  suit  of  clothes  and  sent 
the  old  ones  home.  I  looked  them  over,  and  thought 
that  I  would  mend  them  and  have  them  cleaned  for 
him.  It  was  a  sack  coat,  and  in  its  lining  I  felt 
something  rattle,  like  paper,  and  I  took  it  out  and 
naturally  looked  at  it,  but  not  with  a  prying  mind, 
nor  was  I  suspicious  of  anything. 

"It  proved  to  be  a  couple  of  letters,  and  I  thought 
lessly  looked  at  them.  God  knows  that  I  am  sorry 
that  I  saw  or  read  them,  for  I  have  not  had  a 
moment's  rest  since  I  saw  them.  I  would  far  rather 
that  I  had  been  kept  in  the  dark  and  never  known 
a  word  of  it.  Here  is  the  first  letter.  Please  read 
it" 


364   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"MYBERT  DEAR  :  Loving  you  as  I  do,  and  know 
ing  the  height,  breadth  and  depth  of  your  love  for 
me,  darling,  I  cannot  find  it  in  my  foolish  heart  to 
address  you  by  your  baptismal  name,  because  Her 
bert  implies  that  some  time  in  your  life  there  was 
another  "her,"  which  I  know  to  be  not  so;  hence 
I  am  not  going  to  put  one  there  even  by  inference 
or  otherwise. 

"Mama  was  just  in,  and  seeing  that  I  was  writing 
you,  she  just  kissed  me  on  the  forehead,  patted  me, 
and  went  out.  She  thinks  an  awful  sight  of  you, 
dear. 

"Our  minister  was  here  last  evening,  and  left  the 
certificate  of  our  marriage,  of  which  he  spoke.  I 
am  glad  that  I  waited,  for  this  one  is  very  hand 
some.  When  will  you  be  home,  dear  ?  I  am  jealous, 
and  I  don't  know  of  what  or  of  whom.  I  am  jealous 
of  your  business,  because  it  keeps  you  away  from 
me,  jealous  of  the  waiters  at  the  hotels  who  wait 
upon  you,  jealous  of  the  beds  that  hold  your  dear 
self  in  sleep,  jealous  of  time  that  keeps  you  away. 
Sometimes  I  wish  that  you  were  a  cobbler,  so  I 
could  sit  in  your  shop  as  I  saw  the  Dutch  cobbler's 
wife  do  the  other  day;  then  I  could  get  a  kiss  when 
ever  I  wanted  one. 

"Am  I  not  foolish,  darling?    But  then  it  was  you 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.          365 

that  taught  me  to  love,  and  that  showed  me  the 
noble  heart  that  beats  in  your  bosom  for  me,  on 
which  my  head  has  so  often  rested  in  sleep  and 
waking.  All  that  my  heart  craves  is  : 

"Some  new  way  of  loving  you, 

Better  than  I  love  you  now, 
Is  the  boon  for  which  I  sue. 

If  you  know,  dear,  tell  me  how. 

"How  can  I  help  loving  you  when  you  are  so  nice 
to  me  and  so  considerate  and  good  ?  I  never  realized 
it  so  much  until  you  have  been  with  me  and  have 
left  me.  When  you  are  with  me  my  cup  of  joy  is 
full  to  overflowing,  and  when  you  are  away,  and 
I  think  of  those  lovely  hours  when 

"Life  held  for  me  then 

No  temptations,  no  charms, 

No  vista  of  pleasure 
Outside  of  your  arms." 

"I  wonder  if  Mybert  will  think  his  little  one  fool 
ish.  Her  heart  is  so  filled  with  love  for  him  that  she 
has  no  mind  for  aught  else  but  of  him,  and  if  he 
grew  cold  and  distant,  she  would  wither  away  and 
die. 


366   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Write  to  me,  darling,  just  as  soon  as  you  know 
that  you  can  come  to  me,  for  then  I  will  count  the 
days,  then  the  hours,  then  the  minutes,  and  be  at 
the  window  watching  for  you.    Come  soon,  dear. 
"YOUR  LITTI^  BUTTERJXY." 


When  Mona  had  finished  the  letter  she  was  weep 
ing  in  sympathy  with  the  visitor,  whose  handker 
chief  was  held  to  her  eyes.  Mona  handed  the  letter 
to  her  and  said:  "She  certainly  believes  she  loves 
your  husband." 

"Yes,  and  far  more  than  I  ever  did.  I  realize  it 
more  and  more,  and  wonder  sometimes  if  I  had 
given  him  the  love  that  this  young  woman  does, 
whether  he  would  have  learned  to  love  me  as  he 
evidently  does  her.  I  presume  that  if  he  had  loved 
me,  I  should  have  learned  to  love  him,  and  this 
catastrophe  would  never  have  come." 

"What  are  you  intending  to  do,  if  I  may  ask?  He 
has  undoubtedly  married  her  straight  enough,  and  is 
guilty  of  bigamy,  for  which  you  can  put  him  in  the 
penitentiary." 

"I  shall  do  nothing.  I  realize  that  I  am  fast  dying, 
and  when  I  am  gone  to  rest,  then  he  can  bring  her 
home  if  wants  to.  I  have  seen  and  talked  with 
her,  and  found  her  a  lovely,  young  and  hand- 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.  367 

some  woman.  When  I  visited  her  recently  she 
seemed  so  happy  that  I  resolved  that  I  would  do 
nothing  to  disturb  her  mind  as  mine  was.  I  am  con 
fident  that  she  is  entirely  ignorant  of  the  fact  that 
Herbert  had  a  wife  living  when  he  married  her.  I 
left  her  in  ignorance  of  the  truth.  She  is  a  lovely- 
looking  girl  or  woman  of  about  eighteen  years.  I 
thought  that  she  was  engaged  on  knitting  a  pair  of 
baby  socks  when  I  was  there.  She  told  me  that  she 
had  been  married  about  seven  months." 

"I  admire  your  forbearance,  dear,"  said  Mona, 
"and  I  am  sorry  for  you  to  the  depths  of  my  heart. 
How  unwise  and  sinfully  unjust  were  your  parents 
to  both  of  you  to  have  forced  you  on  each  other  in 
the  manner  that  you  were.  It  was  an  iniquitous 
marriage  that  your  parents  brought  about  in  their 
unthinking  zeal  to  thus  gratify  the  warmth  of  friend 
ship  at  the  sacrifice  of  two  hearts.  Will  you  tell  your 
mother?" 

"No,  I  shall  tell  nobody.  I  know  the  secret  is 
safe  with  you.  I  feel  much  better  now  that  I  have 
talked  with  you,  and  shall  go  home  this  evening  a 
very  sad  and  resigned  woman,  broken-hearted  and 
despondent,  and  patiently  wait  the  summons  hence. 
I  feel  that  it  will  not  be  long  that  I  will  have  to 
wait." 


368      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"If  it  is  not  too  personal,  may  I  ask  whether  you 
have  ever  met  a  man  whom  you  thought  you  could 
love?  Don't  answer  it  if  you  are  sensitive  on  the 
subject." 

"I  do  not  hesitate  to  tell  you,  frankly,  that  I  have ; 
although  no  word  was  ever  spoken  between  us  on 
the  subject.  I  have  felt  down  deep  in  my  heart  a 
very  different  feeling  for  that  gentleman  than  I 
ever  did  for  my  husband.  He  is  an  officer  in  a  bank 
in  our  city  to  which  business  called  me  one  time 
within  about  two  years  after  our  marriage.  As  soon 
as  I  met  him  I  felt  that  I  could  love  him  very  dif 
ferently  from  the  love  that  I  gave  Mr.  Lovelace. 
I  never  meet  that  gentleman  to  this  day  but  I  feel 
drawn  to  him  and  wish  to  caress  him." 

"You  do  not  seem  resentful  toward  your  husband, 
nor  jealous  of  the  other  woman." 

"No,  I  have  no  resentment  in  my  heart  against 
either  of  them.  I  know  too  well  that  if  the  subject 
of  our  marriage  had  not  been  ground  into  us  from 
childhood  that  neither  of  us  would  have  thought  of 
marrying  the  other.  As  I  have  told  you,  Herbert 
never  told  me  that  he  loved  me,  and  never  made 
any  profession  of  love  for  me.  Inasmuch  as  he 
never  professed  a  love  for  me,  I  cannot  charge  him 
with  deception  or  lying.  I  do  not  blame  him  for 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.  369 

loving  that  beautiful  woman,  whose  heart  is  pure  and 
whose  love  for  him  is  sacred  and  very  different 
from  any  feeling  that  I  ever  had  for  him.  I  could 
not  have  the  heart  to  cause  her  pain  nor  show  her 
the  double  life  of  the  man  she  has  ignorantly  mar 
ried.  She  shall  never  know  it  through  any  act  of 
mine." 

"Has  your  husband  been  home  since  you  have  seen 
the  woman?" 

"Yes,  at  least  twice.  I  treated  him  just  as  I  had 
previously,  and,  to  be  candid,  I  did  not  notice  but 
that  he  treated  me  just  as  well  as  he  ever  did.  I 
really  think  that  an  exposure  of  it  would  lead  to  the 
death  of  his  mother,  who  worships  him,  while  my 
mother  would  feel  like  killing  him,  so  that  since  I 
am  the  only  person  who  suffers,  and  the  only  one 
wronged,  it  is  unnecessary  to  cause  the  pain  to  others 
that  an  exposure  would  bring  about,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  penalty  for  the  violation  of  the  laws.  I  am 
now  glad  that  our  baby  did  not  live." 

"Did  your  husband  manifest  any  different  feeling 
for  you  when  your  child  was  bom?" 

"Yes ;  he  was  very  tender  and  considerate.  That 
was  the  only  time  that  he  ever  showed  me  any  love 
or  affection.  Perhaps  if  our  babe  had  lived  this 
might  not  have  occurred." 


370      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Well,  dear,  I  confess  that  I  do  not  know  what 
to  say  to  console  you.  I  am  really  pained  for  you. 
You  are  showing  a  commendable  spirit  and  one 
rarely  heard  of.  I  think  you  are  really  wise  in  the 
course  you  have  taken.  None  other  would  have 
done  you  any  good  nor  lessened  your  suffering,  how 
ever  resentful  you  could  be.  There  seems  no  doubt 
but  that  you  could  put  your  husband  in  prison  by 
your  exposure  of  the  facts,  which  would  lead  to  the 
death  of  his  mother,  perhaps,  and  no  doubt  to  the 
death  and  heart-breaking  of  the  young  woman,  and 
what  would  you  have  gained?  Positively  nothing. 
Your  course  is  the  only  wise  one  for  you  to  pursue 
if  you  have  the  requisite  forbearance  to  meet  the 
conditions.  It  hardly  seems  right  that  you  should 
be  the  only  innocent  sufferer  that  the  unwise  act  of 
your  parents  has  brought  about." 

"If  my  husband  changes  in  his  demeanor  toward 
me  or  grows  neglectful,  I  shall  then  write  the  facts 
of  my  visit  to  the  young  woman,  and  leave  them 
for  him  to  ponder  over  after  I  shall  have  paid  the 
only  debt  that  this  unfortunate  affair  has  levied  upon 
any  one.  The  young  woman  is  innocent  of  any 
wrong-doing,  and  I  could  not  blame  any  man  for 
falling  in  love  with  her.  Her  love  for  him  is  truly 
beautiful,  and  I  am  convinced  that  he  deliberately 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.          371 

sought  her  out  and  made  love  to  her,  because  she 
told  me  that  she  had  fitted  the  third  pair  of  gloves 
for  him  before  he  ever  made  any  effort  to  be  more 
than  ordinarily  pleasant  to  her.  She  said  that  he 
told  her  that  he  loved  her  from  the  moment  that  he 
first  saw  her.  He  was  introduced  to  her  by  the 
junior  of  the  firm  where  she  was  employed.  Here 
is  the  other  letter  of  which  I  spoke.  If  you  care 
to  read  it,  you  may.  And  then  I  must  be  going. 
Please  read  it  aloud,  although  I  have  read  it  so 
often  that  I  know  it  by  heart." 

Mona  took  the  letter,  wondering  at  the  action  of 
the  woman,  and  she  earnestly  scanned  her  visitor's 
face.  She  could  never  recall  having  heard  of  such 
a  heroic  self-sacrifice  as  was  now  shown  her.  How 
noble  the  woman  was  showing  herself  to  be  while 
her  heart  was  literally  breaking.  Mona  had  serious 
doubts  as  to  whether  her  visitor's  mind  was  not  al 
ready  shattered,  as  evidenced  in  her  admiration  for 
the  letters  and  her  desire  to  hear  them  read  over. 

"Pardon  me,  but  I  see  a  thought  that  is  passing 
through  your  mind.  You  think  me  out  of  my  head, 
or  nearly  so.  I  have  moments  when  I  think  so 
myself  sometimes.  You  may  wonder,  too,  why  I  am 
dying  or  talking  of  dying  because  of  this  sorrow, 
and  at  the  same  time  acknowledging  that  I  never 


372      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

loved  my  husband.  You  would  naturally  think  that, 
under  these  circumstances,  I  would  be  indifferent, 
and  not  care,  perhaps.  I  do  not  care  for  the  love 
which  he  bears  the  woman,  nor  do  I  care  for  the 
love  she  bears  him,  because  I  never  loved  him.  She 
is  not  depriving  me  of  anything,  nor  is  he,  so  far. 
If  it  had  not  been  for  my  finding  the  letters,  I 
would  not  have  been  the  wiser,  because  there  is  no 
change  in  the  treatment  of  my  husband  toward  me. 
I  have  no  reason  to  hold  resentment  against  either 
of  them,  and  I  do  not.  We  are  the  victims  of  the 
misguided  interest  of  our  parents." 

Mona  changed  her  position  so  that  the  light  would 
fall  upon  the  paper  and  at  the  same  time  shade  her 
face.  She  scanned  the  handwriting,  which  was  clear 
and  clean,  showing  that  it  was  spontaneous  and 
natural.  It  read  : 


DEAR  :  Although  you  only  left  me  this 
morning,  my  heart  is  so  filled  with  love  for  you  that 
I  must  write  you  out  of  its  fulness.  You  dear, 
foolish  sweetheart.  To  think  that  you  should  have 
such  a  feeling  over  my  letters  that  you  would  not 
destroy  them  because  it  would  seem  to  you  that  you 
were  hurting  my  body.  The  idea  seems  so  foolish, 
but  I  love  you  all  the  more  for  the  feeling. 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.  373 

"After  you  left  me  this  morning,  I  lay  for  over 
two  hours,  I  think,  living  over  in  my  mind  the  many 
happy  hours  you  have  given  me,  and  I  have  won 
dered  if  in  this  whole  world  there  is  as  happy  a  being 
as  I.  Take  care  of  yourself,  dear,  for  if  you  were  to 
get  killed  I  know  I  should  die,  for  there  would  be 
nothing  for  which  I  would  want  to  live.  I  would 
want  to  die.  I  would  never  want  the  love  of  any 
other  man,  for  I  am  yours,  body  and  soul,  and  I 
cannot  live  without  you.  In  you  is  my  life,  my 
world,  and  my  being,  and  without  you  there  could 
be  no  happiness  on  earth. 

"I  don't  know  how  I  will  endure  until  I  next  see 
you,  and  that  will  be  a  full  week.  My  Sundays  are 
so  heavenly  with  you,  and  they  are  so  long  without 
you  when  you  are  away. 

"You  must  write  me  a  good  long  letter  on  Sunday, 
for  you  will  not  have  to  work.  Tell  me  all  about 
how  you  spend  the  day. 

"YOUR  LITTLE  BUTTERFLY." 

"That  is  the  outpouring  of  a  true  heart,"  said 
Mona  reflectively. 

"Miss  Davidge,  this  visit  and  talk  have  done  me 
a  world  of  good,  and  since  you  think  that  I  have 


374      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

marked  out  the  true  course,  I  shall  continue  in  that 
resolve.  I  thank  you  more  than  I  can  tell. 

"As  I  now  feel  toward  my  husband,  I  hope  he 
will  never  know  the  misery  that  our  marriage  has 
caused  me,  and  I  prefer  to  die  with  the  secret  hid 
den  in  my  heart.  I  know  that  I  can  trust 
you. 

"I  hope  and  pray  for  the  success  of  your  new 
science.  I  have  never  heard  of  anything  that  is  so 
practical,  and  that  will  bring  forth  such  happy  re 
sults  for  posterity  as  your  cult." 

"Before  you  go,"  said  Mona,  rising  and  taking 
the  hand  of  her  visitor,  "I  want  to  say  to  you  that 
you  have  shown  yourself  to  be  a  noble-hearted 
woman  of  rare  ability.  You  are  a  heroine  if  ever 
there  was  one  in  real  life,  and  I  admire  you  very 
much.  Your  action  gives  me  heart  to  continue  as 
I  have  begun,  and  is  a  new  incentive  to  preach  it 
to  others.  Good-bye,  and  may  God  give  you 
strength  to  bear  the  cross  so  cruelly  placed  upon  you 
by  well-meaning  though  misguided  parents." 

After  her  visitor  had  departed,  Mona  sat  with 
her  face  resting  on  her  hand  in  deep  thought.  She 
wondered  if  she  would  have  the  courage  to  act  as 
nobly  and  as  sensibly  as  this  woman  was  acting. 

Her  heart  was  deeply  moved  by  the  sad  recital. 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.  375 

It  was  but  another  instance  of  ill-considered 
marriage. 

This  later  development  brought  the  always  sadly 
recurring  thought  of  her  mother,  and  the  two  lent  a 
pathos  to  her  weak  effort  to  avert  such  sad  conse 
quences,  and  she  resolved  to  go  on  with  her  work 
of  reform. 

The  ring  of  the  telephone  brought  her  to  earth 
again,  and  upon  responding  she  found  her  mother 
inquiring  if  she  was  alone,  and  saying  that  Mrs. 
Douglas  was  visiting  her. 

"Yes,  mother,  I  am  alone,  and  please  come  over. 
Give  Mrs.  Douglas  my  love,  and  bring  her  over,  and 
we  will  have  a  cup  of  tea." 

Mona  busied  herself  in  the  tea-making.  She  was 
glad  of  the  interruption  of  her  sad  reverie,  and  par 
ticularly  glad  that  her  mother  was  coming.  In  a 
few  minutes  the  visitors  were  there,  and  Mona 
greeted  Mrs.  Douglas  first  in  a  quiet  manner  and 
then  turned  to  the  bosom  that  was  always  a  solace 
and  comfort — putting  her  arms  around  her  mother 
and,  as  had  always  been  her  wont  when  sad,  burying 
her  face  in  her  mother's  neck  and  kissing  her  there. 
There  was  a  strong  bond  of  sympathy  between  these 
two,  and  the  elder  woman  well  knew  that  Mona's 
heart  was  saddened  by  some  untoward  event.  She 


376      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

brought  Mona's  face  gently  around  so  that  she  could 
in  turn  kiss  Mona  on  the  forehead. 

"Why  is  daughter  sad  to-day;  has  anything  gone 
wrong?" 

"No,  mother,  except  that  I  have  just  had  a  visitor 
whose  married  life  was  such  a  mistake  that  her  life 
is  totally  wrecked  by  it.  It  made  me  sad  for  the 
time,  but  now  that  you  are  here,  dear,  I  am  happy. 
This  was  a  case  where  the  parents  planned  and  car 
ried  out  the  whole  affair,  and  neither  party  had  any 
love  for  the  other." 

"Mona,  what  name  have  you  given  to  your  eth 
ics?"  asked  Mrs.  Douglas.  "I  was  asked  and 
couldn't  tell.  It  is  worthy  of  a  name,  for  it  means 
more  to  womanhood  than  does  this  so-called  Chris 
tian  Science  or  Woman's  Suffrage." 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Douglas,"  said  Mona,  quietly,  "names 
signify  nothing;  the  principle  involved,  if  it  has  vir 
tue  and  worth  on  its  side,  will  appeal  to  sensible  peo 
ple  without  a  name." 

"Yes,  it  does,  Mona,  and  I  want  to  be  at  the 
christening.  How  would  'The  Science  of  Selection' 
do?  I  would  like  that,  and  it  would  mean  and 
express  just  what  it  is." 

"If  any  were  to  be  given  to  it,  I  should  think  that 
would  do." 


A  MISMATED  MARRIAGE.  377 

The  ladies  sat  over  their  tea  until  Mona's  mother 
saw  that  Mona  had  gained  her  equilibrium,  and  then 
they  left. 

When  they  were  gone  Mona  put  on  her  things  and 
went  out  for  a  call  on  and  a  walk  with  Bess,  whose 
lively  disposition  was  just  what  she  then  needed  to 
help  her  pull  herself  together. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Bess,  who  had  been  on  a  visit  to  one  of  their 
school  friends  for  a  week  or  two,  came  in  with  a 
whirl  and  all  excitement  early  the  morning  after 
Mona's  and  Ralph's  talk,  and  announced  that  their 
friend,  Eleanor  Story,  was  to  arrive  in  New  York 
that  morning  at  ten  o'clock,  on  her  way  to  Pough- 
keepsie  to  attend  their  W.  E.  Society. 

"Of  course  you  will  go  to  the  meeting,  Mona, 
won't  you  ?"  said  Bess. 

"It  has  been  my  intention  to  go,  and  to  that  end 
I  have  been  rehearsing  my  catechism." 

"Sure,  you  will  need  it  as  presiding  officer,"  said 
Bess.  "Where  is  your  society  pin,  Mona?  I  have 
not  seen  you  wearing  it  for  some  time." 

"I  have  not  been  wearing  it  since  mother  pre 
sented  me  with  that  diamond  brooch.  I  will  get  it 
now  for  fear  that  Miss  Story  might  think  me  grow 
ing  indifferent  to  our  tenets,"  said  Mona,  as  she  left 
the  sitting-room  to  get  the  pin. 


THE  W.  E.  SOCIETY.  379 

"Bring  the  catechism  along,  Mona,  and  let  us  go 
over  it  together,"  said  Bess. 

Mona  returned  with  her  little  W.  E.  pin,  and  fas 
tened  it  to  her  collar. 

"Now  let  me  have  the  copy,  and  I  will  question 
you,  Mona. 

"What  is  this?" 

"The  catechism." 

"Catechism  of  what?" 

"The  catechism  of  the  W.  E.  Society." 

"What  is  the  W.  E.  Society?" 

"The  Woman's  Emancipation  Society." 

"Why  is  emancipation  desired?" 

"So  that  woman's  mind  might  escape  from  the 
thraldom  and  narrowing  influence  of  man's  domi 
nance." 

"Who  made  the  first  man  ?" 

"Man  was  not  made;  man  evolved." 

"From  what  was  man  evolved?" 

"From  a  vicious  tribe  of  monkeys." 

"Who  made  woman?" 

"Woman  was  not  made;  woman  also  evolved." 

"Has  woman  any  hope  of  getting  her  emancipa 
tion?" 

"She  has." 

"Upon  what  is  that  hope  based  ?" 


380   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Principally  upon  her  improved  mental  and  physi 
cal  development,  while  man  is  deteriorating  both 
mentally  and  physically." 

"Is  there  no  hope  of  man  assisting  woman  in  her 
aims  or  of  his  voluntary  surrender  of  this  domi 
nance  ?" 

"There  is  no  hope." 

"Why  will  he  not  voluntarily  surrender  the  mas 
tership  of  woman?" 

"Because  all  moral  reform  comes  from  within, 
and  it  requires  unusual  strength  of  character  to  re 
form  oneself.  Man  is  lacking  in  that  quality." 

"Why  does  man  lack  that  quality?" 

"Because  of  his  inh'erent  selfishness,  which  has 
weakened  his  nature  by  abuse  through  fast  and  cor 
rupt  living." 

"How  does  woman  hope  to  accomplish  this  eman 
cipation?" 

"By  a  process  of  selection  of  the  best  of  the  spe 
cies  of  man  in  marriage,  and  by  teaching  the  prin 
ciple  to  her  offspring,  and  especially  by  inculcating 
in  her  sons  a  love  of  justice  for,  and  a  recognition 
of,  their  duty  to  woman,  and  making  it  a  cardinal 
virtue  in  them  to  live  an  upright  and  virtuous  life." 

"What  is  meant  by  a  selection  of  the  best  of  the 
species  ?" 


THE  W.  E.  SOCIETY.  381 

"By  a  study  of  man,  an  elimination  of  those  from 
possible  marriage  who  have  degenerated  by  debauch 
ery  and  a  corrupt  life,  and  also  of  those  who  do  not 
acknowledge  woman's  equality  with  man." 

"How  is  that  brought  about?" 

"By  dwelling  together  with  an  apparent  example 
of  the  better  type  of  man  for  a  period,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  study  of  him  and  an  introspection  of  self 
until  one  in  harmony  with  our  ethics  is  found  and  a 
harmonious  mean  is  established." 

"Is  marriage  a  pre-requisite  to  the  woman's  hap 
piness  ?" 

"Marriage  is  not  a  pre-requisite  to  woman's  hap 
piness." 

"Under  the  conditions  which  have  obtained  in  the 
past  and  which  do  now  obtain,  what  is  woman's 
destiny?" 

"Disappointment,  misery  and  unhappiness." 

"What  can  she  hope  to  attain  by  this  effort  ?" 

"Freedom  and  independence,  building  of  a  better 
character  and  a  better  manhood  in  future  man." 

"How  should  woman  proceed  in  this  propa 
ganda  ?" 

"By  establishing  Woman's  Emancipation  Clubs  in 
all  communities." 


382   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Is  there  no  other  manner  of  accomplishing  this 
reform?" 

"There  is  none." 

"Why  is  there  no  other  way  of  establishing  wom 
an's  freedom  from  the  dominance  of  man  than  by 
organizing  Woman's  Emancipation  Clubs?" 

"Because  man,  in  the  broadest  sense,  is  arrayed 
almost  en  masse  against  woman's  virtue,  and  unless 
woman  organizes  sisterly  clubs,  pledged  to  help  each 
other,  especially  in  extending  a  helping  and  sisterly 
hand  to  weak  or  erring  sisters,  or  one  under  suspi 
cion,  woman  individually  cannot  hope  to  accomplish 
a  reform.  A  sisterly  hand  extended  to  a  weak  sis 
ter  will  encourage  her.  By  organization,  individual 
woman  will  not  fear  the  stigma  of  suspicion  when 
seen  encouraging  a  fallen  sister,  by  association.  The 
monogram  badge,  always  worn,  should  be  honored 
by  a  recognition  of  it  in  some  manner  by  every  mem 
ber,  wherever  seen." 

"Is  there  any  other  reason  why  this  organization 
is  deemed  essential  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
emancipation  of  woman?" 

"There  is.  As  society  now  exists,  woman  is  wom 
an's  greatest  enemy  through  her  cowardice  and 
timidity.  She  fears  to  be  seen  with  a  sister  who  is 
under  the  ban  of  suspicion;  hence  that  sister  is  elim- 


THE  W.  E.  SOCIETY.  383 

inated  from  the  association  of  those  whose  society 
could  help  her,  and  she  is  forced  to  seek  the  society 
of  those  who  cannot  help  her  to  regain  her  position 
in  respectable  society." 

"Bessie,  dear,"  said  Mona,  as  that  young  lady  was 
about  to  depart,  "give  Eleanor  my  love  and  an  invi 
tation  to  dine  with  me  at  six.  I  want  you  to  come 
with  her  and  dine  with  us,  too." 

"Oh,  Mona,  but  I  am  sorry.  I  can't  possibly  do 
it,  for  my  Aunt  Bessie  Thompson,  mama's  youngest 
sister,  after  whom  I  am  named,  and  a  cousin  from 
Newark  are  to  spend  the  day  with  us,  and  will  dine 
there,  and,  of  course,  I  could  not  be  absent.  Eleanor 
can  come,  though,  for  she  would  enjoy  dining  with 
you  more  than  anything  else ;  besides,  she  would  not 
enjoy  a  visit  at  our  table  as  she  would  at  yours." 

"What  are  you  going  to  wear,  Mona,  when  you 
are  at  Poughkeepsie  ?  Please  put  on  that  wine- 
colored  suit.  You  look  so  stunning  in  it,  and  it  fits 
you  to  perfection.  I  want  to  feel  proud  of  you  in 
every  way  up  there.  And  your  large  black  hat,  with 
the  plumes.  Do  that  to  please  me,  won't  you  ?  You 
look  so  dignified  in  that  suit." 

"I  always  want  to  please  you,  dear,  and  the  wear 
ing  of  those  clothes  is  always  a  pleasure  to  me." 

"Mama  is  another  of  your  warm  admirers,  and 


384   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

when  I  am  more  than  usually  boisterous,  she  tells 
me :  'Why  can't  you  emulate  your  friend  Mona,  and 
at  least  be  a  little  dignified  some  time  ?'  While  com 
parisons  are  odious,  I  never  feel  hurt  at  a  compari 
son  with  you. 

"Mrs.  Douglas  likes  you  immensely,  and  when 
mama  chides  me,  she  says :  'Never  mind,  Bessie,  Fly- 
up-the-creeks  have  always  a  light  heart.  You  can't 
go  far  wrong  if  you  tie  to  your  paragon,  whose 
complacency  will  save  you.' ' 

After  Bess  left,  Mona  called  Ralph  up  by  'phone, 
and  told  him  that  Miss  Eleanor  Story,  from  Kansas, 
would  dine  with  them  at  six,  and  to  please  be  not 
late;  that  she  would  accompany  Miss  Story  to 
Poughkeepsie  on  the  morrow  in  the  early  train,  but 
would  return  on  the  express  in  the  evening.  Mona 
then  started  out  to  market. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Bess  and  Miss  Story  stopped  in  on  their  way  down 
town,  about  two  o'clock,  "just  to  see  our  heroine," 
Bess  gushed  as  she  entered  the  room. 

"Oh,  Mona,  dear,"  said  Miss  Story,  "I  have  been 
hearing  such  good  reports  of  you  that  I  am  crazy 
to  talk  with  you.  Of  course  you  will  attend  the 
meeting  of  the  society,  won't  you?" 

"Yes,  I  will  go  up  early,  and  be  with  you  until 
4  p.  M.  I  have  wired  for  the  reservation  of  a  parlor 
at  the  Morgan  House,  and  hope  to  see  most  of  the 
girls  there.  I  feel  quite  enthusiastic  over  the  pros 
pects  of  again  meeting  them." 

"Now,  Mona,  you  must  be  prepared  to  give  the 
girls  a  talk  on  the  subject  along  the  lines  of  'Court 
ing  under  Contract,'  for  they  all  know  through  cor 
respondence  of  your  championship  of  our  principles, 
and  they  will  think  of  nothing  else." 

"I  had  no  thought  of  talking  on  that  subject, 

386 


386      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

except  as  it  came  up  privately,  with  our  intimates." 

"But  I  will  not  be  dissuaded  from  insisting,  and 
will  encourage  the  rest  not  to  give  you  any  peace 
until  you  do,"  said  Miss  Story. 

"I  will  expect  you  to  dine  with  me  and  my 
fiance,  so  run  along  and  get  through  with  your  shop 
ping,  and  come  back  promptly." 

Miss  Story  returned  at  the  time  requested,  full 
of  animation,  and  wanted  to  inspect  Mona's  room, 
and  was  very  much  pleased  when  Mona  said:  "If 
there  is  any  praise  for  the  beauty  of  the  room,  give 
it  to  Bess,  for  it  is  all  her  work,  and  reflects  her 
taste  entirely,  and  I  like  it." 

Ralph  came  home  freshly  shaved  and  looking  very 
handsome  as  Miss  Story  acknowledged  to  herself. 

Mona  told  them  to  entertain  themselves,  as  she 
had  something  requiring  her  attention  elsewhere. 
Ralph  exerted  himself  to  make  Miss  Story  feel  at 
home,  doing  his  utmost  to  acquit  himself  with  credit. 
He  referred  to  Mona's  skill  in  cooking,  saying: 
"Wait  until  you  taste  the  dinner  that  she  has  pre 
pared,  and  your  love  for  her  will  increase  for  her 
fourfold,  if  you  are  not  differently  constituted  from 
man,  whose  love  is  usually  successfully  won  by 
flattering  his  appetite  and  his  stomach." 

"But  my  stomach  is  not  mannish,"  laughed  Miss 


RALPH  AND  MISS  STORY.          387 

Story.  "Ice-cream  will  not  win  my  love,  or  it  would 
have  gone  out  to  a  young  man  this  spring,  for  he 
either  was,  or  pretended  to  be,  inordinately  fond  of 
ice-cream,  and  wore  the  sill  off  the  doorway  taking 
me  so  often." 

"Did  he  make  love  to  you  before,  during,  or  after 
the  eating  of  the  cream?"  asked  Ralph. 

"Oh,  he  thought  he  was  making  love  all  the  time 
either  by  his  eyes,  his  sighs,  or  his  ties,  for  what 
ever  kind  of  a  dress  I  wore,  he  was  sure  to  match  it 
with  a  tie  of  the  same  hue." 

"But  didn't  he  disclose  his  love?"  asked  Ralph. 

"Words,  mere  words!  All  clumsy  vehicles  for 
conveying  love's  messages,"  said  Miss  Story  eva 
sively.  "A  love  that  needs  words  to  declare  it  is 
lacking  in  depth  and  quality.  Anybody  who  can  talk 
can  say,  'I  love  you,'  but  will  the  heart  feel  any  thrill 
of  conviction  or  responsive  sympathy  from  hearing 
it,  even  though  it  is  uttered  hourly?  I  want  to 
inhale  it  like  the  odor  of  a  sweet  rose,  and  feel  its 
presence  in  the  atmosphere  I  breathe,  and  to  know 
that  it  envelops  me  even  when  I  am  not  listening 
to  the  mere  words  of  a  declaration.  Words  discon 
nect  and  break  the  harmony  of  a  love  that  is  sincere ; 
besides,  words  lie,  and  pure  love  never  lies,  neither 
can  it  be  hidden.  Priscilla  knew  and  felt  the  love 


388      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

of  John  Alden,  whom  Miles  Standish  sent  to  do 
his  courting.  John  was  too  loyal  to  his  employer, 
though,  to  speak  of  the  love  that  was  consuming  him. 
Priscilla  had  no  need  of  words  to  be  informed  of  it. 
That,  is  the  love  that  cannot  lie,  neither  can  it  be 
suppressed  nor  denied.  It  is  the  kind  that  will  stand 
the  test  of  temptation  and  will  be  strengthened  by 
distress." 

At  this  juncture  Mona  appeared,  and  having  over 
heard  the  closing  remark,  jokingly  said :  "That  is  a 
dangerous  subject,  dear,  and  is  apt  to  leave  fire  in 
i&  wake.  Tea  is  ready,  so  come  to  the  table  and 
finish  the  discussion  here." 

Ralph  appeared  more  animated  and  chatty  than 
any  time  since  the  hammock  scene,  and  made  a  seem 
ingly  determined  effort  to  win  Miss  Story's  favor. 
He  seemed  more  tender  in  his  attention  to  Mona  than 
he  had  since  their  first  few  days  of  home  life.  All 
this  was  carefully  noted  by  Mona. 

"Miss  Story  was  just  defining  love  as  she  con 
ceives  it,  and  I  rather  like  her  ideas.  She  wants  to 
feel  it  in  the  atmosphere  like  the  exhalation  from 
the  rose.  The  holding  of  hands  in  silence,  in  stolen 
meetings  behind  the  window  curtain,  on  moonlight 
nights,  appeals  to  her  when  the  beating  pulse  con 
veys  the  current  from  one  to  the  other.  She  can- 


RALPH  AND'  MISS  STORY.         389 

not  absorb  it  in  ice-creams  nor  from  sighs  emitted 
by  the  love-sick  swain,  and  conveying  it  by  words, 
mere  words,  jars  on  her  sensibilities." 

"Did  I  say  all  that,  Mr.  Guy?"  asked  Miss 
Story. 

"What  'mere  words'  did  not  convey  was  felt  in 
the  circumambient  atmosphere." 

Mona  was  silent,  and  Miss  Story's  face  was  suf 
fused  with  blushes. 

"Well,  really,"  said  Miss  Story,  "there  is  so  much 
deception  in  love  and  love-making,  that  one  seldom 
knows  what  to  believe.  We  cannot  at  all  times  trust 
the  feelings  that  move  us,  and  as  for  believing  half 
what  men  tell  us  about  their  love,  we  are  lost  in  con 
jecture  as  to  what  animates  us  and  them.  It  may 
have  its  life  from  an  itching  palm  to  possess  a  part 
of  the  fat  bank-account  of  the  girl's  father,  which 
quickly  dies  if  a  financial  reverse  comes  to  the 
father.  It  may  be  animated  by  a  desire  for  advance 
ment  in  a  worldly  way,  a  business  connection,  or 
political  advancement.  Man's  love  is  so  erratic  that 
when  he  is  not  making  love  to  you,  you  naturally 
suspect  that  he  is  making  love  to  some  other 
woman." 

"I  fear,  Miss  Story,  that,  between  doubt  and 
suspense,  you  will  be  long  at  arriving  at  a  conclu- 


390   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

sion,  and  perhaps  err  in  your  selection  finally,  unless 
a  John  Alden  should  come  into  your  life." 

The  conversation  turned  to  discussing  the  more 
desirable  and  entertaining  sights  of  New  York  for 
a  visitor,  and  Ralph  was  pleasant  to  effusiveness 
throughout  the  entire  visit  of  Miss  Story. 

Miss  Story  had  an  engagement  for  the  theatre, 
and  left  very  soon  after  dinner. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Mona  was  up  bright  and  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  meeting  of  the  W.  E.  Society,  and  took  the  train 
at  eight  A.  M.  for  Poughkeepsie,  where  she  arrived 
none  too  soon  to  meet  the  clamorous  crowd  of  hand 
some,  fresh-faced,  gaily-bedecked  girls,  who  all 
rushed  to  greet  their  president  with  great  enthusiasm. 
They  had  invaded  her  parlor  and  decorated  it  with 
ferns  and  beautiful  flowers  and  with  their  class  flag 
entwined  with  the  American  colors.  Mona's  recep 
tion  was  so  far  beyond  anything  which  she  had  ex 
pected  that  her  eyes  filled  with  tears  of  gratitude  to 
her  many  admiring  friends. 

There  seemed  but  one  thought  in  the  minds  of  the 
entire  membership,  and  that  was  to  hear  Mona  talk. 
The  business  meeting  was  a  cut-and-dried  affair,  the 
girls  having  agreed  upon  everything  in  advance. 
The  meeting  was  brief,  and  they  were  ready  to  ad 
journ  for  luncheon,  when  a  surprise  was  sprung 
upon  them  in  the  shape  of  a  summons  from  the  col- 

391 


392      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

lege  faculty,  ordering  all  the  membership  to  return 
to  the  college,  and  admonishing  them  of  their  duty 
under  pain  of  dismissal  to  see  to  it  that  their  accom 
plished  president  accompany  them. 

Mona  felt  deeply  the  great  compliment  intended 
by  the  faculty,  but  she  realized  that  her  return  on 
the  four  p.  M.  train  was  impossible,  and  she  beck 
oned  to  Bess  to  come  to  her,  and  told  her  of  her 
engagement  to  return.  Bess  promptly  informed  her 
that  they  had  already  wired  her  mother,  telling  her 
that  Mona  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  faculty, 
and  that  she  would  not  return  to-day. 

One  thing  that  the  W.  E.  Society  was  determined 
on  was  the  re-election  of  Mona  to  the  presidency, 
and  that  young  woman's  efforts  to  the  contrary  were 
utterly  ignored,  and  she  was  unanimously  re-elected. 
Another  thing  that  they  were  determined  upon  was 
that  she  should  address  them,  and  when  the  sum 
mons  came  from  the  faculty,  the  Committee  on 
Arrangements  went  to  work  at  the  telephone,  sum 
moning  hacks  and  carriages  to  convey  them  to  the 
college.  Upon  their  arrival,  a  reception  committee 
of  Sophs  was  in  attendance  to  escort  them  to  the 
hall,  where  the  faculty  received  them  in  a  neat, 
formal  manner,  and  then  turned  the  hall  over  to 
the  Committee  on  Arrangements. 


MONA'S  ADDRESS.  393 

The  society  was  called  to  order  by  the  vice-presi 
dent,  Miss  Story,  who  declared  the  first  business  in 
order  to  be  the  swearing  in  of  the  president-elect, 
which  was  done  by  Mona  being  conducted  to  the 
chair,  where  she  took  the  oath  of  office. 

As  soon  as  she  took  the  gavel  in  hand  the  entire 
membership  arose,  and  the  cry  of  "Speech"  came 
from  every  throat,  and  was  kept  up  with  the  wav 
ing  of  society  flags  until  Mona  signified  that  she 
was  ready  to  comply.  She  rapped  them  to  be  seated,, 
and  then  proceeded  to  the  address. 

She  well  knew  the  subject  on  which  each 
desired  to  hear  her  speak  and  it  was  the  one  that 
she  determined  not  to  consider.  She  took  the  sub 
ject  of  "Character"  for  her  remarks,  and  appealed 
to  them  to  give  the  subject  of  building  a  character 
as  the  most  important  one  for  their  consideration. 
She  admonished  them  that  the  first  step  was  self- 
denial  and  self-control,  and  that  without  those  vir 
tues  their  vacillating  natures  would  be  manifest  at 
all  times.  That  if  they  hoped  to  achieve  anything, 
the  building  of  a  character  was  a  pre-requisite,  and 
as  important  to  their  success  as  the  foundation  is 
to  a  house;  and  self-control  and  self-denial  were 
essential  in  the  same  degree.  That  if  they  would 
marry  happily,  much  depended  on  themselves. 


394      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Introspection,  honestly  and  rigidly  applied,  would 
show  to  them  that  they  themselves  were  lacking  in 
characteristics  that  go  largely  to  make  up  a  moral 
atmosphere  suitable  for  a  happy  home.  Self-denial 
will  go  far  toward  and  is  essential  to  the  building 
of  a  character.  If  they  cannot  practice  self-denial, 
they  are  not  fit  to  become  wives.  Selfishness  is  a 
moral  sin  which  rests  upon  them  alone  to  efface 
from  their  natures.  Its  effacement  is  a  very  good 
starting-point  and  is  the  first  important  step  toward 
character-building.  That  they  are  not  womanly 
who  cannot  practice  self-control  and  self-denial. 
Man  or  woman  without  power  to  deny  self  is  an 
uncontrollable  beast,  even  though  polished  by  edu 
cation  and  clothed  in  silk  and  velvet.  Exterior  dec 
oration  only  serves  to  emphasize  the  enormity  of 
the  beastly  nature.  She  closed  her  remarks  by 
saying : 

"You  can  never  build  a  character  until  you  have 
under  leash  your  appetites  and  tempers.  You  can 
not  have  refinement,  however  rich  and  well- 
educated  you  may  be,  until  you  first  control  your 
temper  and  your  appetites.  If  we  eliminate  char 
acter  from  your  possessions,  and  I  mean  character 
as  defined  by  Webster:  'Moral  quality;  the  princi 
ples  and  motives  that  control  life/  you  have  nothing 


MONA'S  ADDRESS.  395 

to  sustain  you  in  adversity  and  trouble,  for  it  is 
that  element  that  clothes  you  and  saves  you  from 
suspicion.  If  you  would  enter  upon  the  life  of 
'Courtship  under  Contract,'  you  must  have  first 
established  a  character.  Parents  may  guarantee 
your  respectability  and  reputation,  but  character 
cannot  be  conferred  either  by  parents  or  husband. 
It  must  come  from  within. 

"There  is  perhaps  no  time  in  your  lives,  ladies, 
when  you  will  ever  live  such  a  deceptive  life,  so  out 
of  proportion  to  everything  natural,  as  when  the 
spirit  of  love  for  man  has  taken  hold  of  you.  You 
are  not  your  normal  self.  If  you  are  so  situated  that 
you  only  see  the  object  of  your  fascination  once  or 
twice  a  week,  you  see  him  in  heroic  mould,  and 
yourself  so  in  harmony  with  him  that  you  see  as 
he  sees,  as  you  yourself  never  saw  before,  until  he 
thinks  you  angelic.  You  have  immortalized  him 
and  surrounded  him  with  a  halo  of  righteousness 
that  could  do  no  wrong.  You  have  built  around 
each  other  an  opalescent  cloud  that  only  serves  to 
beautify  and  deceive  your  real  selves.  When  the 
after-awakening  comes,  often  too  late  for  your 
good,  you  wonder  where  your  eyes  and  senses  were. 

"Ladies  and  sisters,  there  is  no  way  to  escape  this 
terrible  catastrophe  in  your  young  life  but  through 


396   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

courtship  by  residence  with  the  man  of  your  choice ; 
during  the  while,  the  scales  will  fall  from  the  eyes 
of  each,  and  you  will  know  each  other  as  you  are. 
But,  I  repeat,  you  must  first  build  character." 

Bess  never  saw  herself  so  popular  as  she  was  at 
Poughkepsie,  through  her  preceding  intimacy  with 
Mona.  She  was  questioned  without  end  about 
Mona's  life  in  New  York,  about  Ralph,  and  how 
he  looked,  and  their  mode  of  life  in  the  new  apart 
ment.  She,  in  her  enthusiasm  over  Mona,  drew  on 
her  imagination  for  much  of  the  relation  that  she 
gave,  enlarging  not  a  little  on  the  Richter  reforma 
tion  incident,  of  which  she  really  knew  nothing, 
getting  her  history  largely  from  Dr.  Morrison,  the 
other  enthusiastic  friend  of  Mona.  But  the  story 
lost  none  of  its  importance  or  interest  in  her  tell 
ing  it. 

That  young  lady,  however,  could  tell  nothing  as 
to  whether  Mona  and  Ralph  were  going  to  be  mar 
ried,  nor  whether  Mona  was  learning  to  love  Ralph. 
She  thought  that  Ralph  was  very  much  in  love  with 
Mona.  When  Mona  had  finished  her  talk,  and  the 
meeting  was  about  to  adjourn,  a  message  came  from 
the  professor  of  philosophy,  inviting  Mona  to  be 
her  guest  during  the  rest  of  her  stay,  and  urging 
her  to  at  least  remain  over  Sunday.  The  invita- 


MONA'S  ADDRESS.  397 

tion  was  accepted,  but  with  the  stipulation  that  she 
be  permitted  to  depart  at  2  p.  M.  on  the  morrow. 

When  Mona  arrived  at  the  Grand  Central  Sta 
tion,  she  went  to  the  'phone  booth  and  called  up 
Ralph  and  her  mother  to  inform  them  of  her  re 
turn,  and  that  Miss  Story  was  with  her,  who  would 
be  her  guest  for  a  few  days,  and  requested  her 
mother  to  call  that  evening.  Ralph  replied  that  his 
cousin,  George  Colquit,  a  drummer  for  a  shoe  house, 
was  in  town,  and  that  he  would  invite  him  to  call 
if  agreeable  to  Mona,  adding:  "These  drummers 
are  a  lively  lot,  and  Colquit  is  a  typical  one,  but  if 
you  think  you  would  not  like  Miss  Story  to  meet 
him,  I  will  defer  the  invitation  until  his  return 
next  week." 

"By  no  means,"  said  Mona.  "I  have  understood 
that  the  commercial  traveler  must,  of  necessity,  be 
a  bright  and  intelligent  man  and  a  gentleman,  and 
while  Miss  Story  is  a  very  sweet,  gentle  girl,  if  she 
has  any  prejudice  against  drummers,  it  is  time  and 
this  is  the  opportunity  to  disabuse  her  mind  on  the 
subject.  I  join  you  in  the  invitation,  and  be  sure 
to  bring  him  with  you  to  dinner." 

Mona  informed  Miss  Story  that  Ralph's  cousin 
would  dine  with  them,  and  that  he  was  a  commercial 


398      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

traveler.  Miss  Story  made  no  reply.  They  went 
directly  home,  and  Mona  left  her  to  herself,  and  a 
magazine  to  entertain  her,  and  went  to  attend  to  the 
domestic  affairs  pertaining  to  the  dinner,  until  the 
coming  of  Ralph  and  his  cousin.  When  Mona  was 
presented  herself,  she  then  presented  Miss  Story. 
Colquit,  a  man  of  about  thirty-five  years,  was  well 
dressed,  with  a  flashy  four-in-hand  tie,  and  inclined 
to  early  baldness.  His  manners  were  easy,  and  he 
seemed  very  much  at  home  in  the  ladies'  society, 
entering  into  conversation  with  Miss  Story  in  a  very 
pleasing  and  intellectual  manner.  Upon  learning 
that  she  was  from  the  West,  whence  he  had  just 
arrived,  he  said : 

"You  don't  look  like  a  product  of  the  wild  and 
woolly  West.  I  judge  you  got  your  dressing-off  in 
the  East,  did  you  not?" 

"I  attended  school  in  the  East  until  last  Spring, 
when  I  returned  home,  and  have  been  there  since. 
Were  you  looking  for  my  felt  hat  with  its  leather 
band?"  asked  Miss  Story,  laughing. 

"No ;  but  I  knew  you  as  differing  from  the  West 
ern  type  as  soon  as  I  saw  you,"  said  Colquit.  "How 
far  West  do  you  live?" 

"I  live  in  Kansas." 

"Kansas?"  repeated  Colquit.     "Well,  I  am  not 


MISS  STORY  AND  COLQUIT.        399 

surprised,  for  I  am  always  looking  there  for  sur 
prises.  In  that  State  you  may  expect  cyclones,  cow 
boys  shooting-up  a  town,  ice  in  July,  prodigies,  or 
any  other  unusual  thing,  from  Peffer's  whiskers  to 
bald-headed  girls." 

"Do  I  enter  your  list  of  surprises  at  the  tail-end?" 
asked  Miss  Story  good-naturedly. 

"Not  by  a  little,"  said  Colquit.  "I  would  classify 
you  with  the  first,  the  cyclone,  that  takes  everything 
in  its  way." 

"After  the  laughter  had  subsided,  the  dinner-bell 
summoned  them  to  dinner,  and  Colquit  said,  after 
Miss  Story  was  seated:  "I  have  an  appetite,  Miss 
Story,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  have  poor  hands  in 
this  game,  and  forget  that  you  are  a  cyclone." 

Miss  Story  laughed,  and  said :  "I'll  pass,  and  will 
not  take  all  this  evening." 

"I  see,"  said  Colquit.  "You  have  been  in  the 
game  recently." 

"Yes,  we  played  seven-up  all  the  way  in  from 
Kansas  City  on  the  sleeper,  and  I  like  the  game." 

Ralph  asked  Mona  how  she  liked  her  trip  and  her 
meeting  with  her  friends,  to  which  she  replied  that 
she  had  a  pleasant  time. 

"Why,  Mr.  Guy,  she  was  the  lion  of  the  occasion. 
She  was  made  president,  and  after  that  the  faculty 


400   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

took  her  prisoner  and  honored  her  as  they  never 
before  honored  any  visiting  graduate.  Mona  is  far 
too  modest  to  tell  any  one  of  the  nice  things  said  of 
her  and  done  for  her.  We  were  all  jealous  of  her, 
even  though  we  all  love  her  so  much." 

"Miss  President,  I  would  thank  you  for  another 
of  those  fine  tea-biscuits,"  said  Colquit,  with  mock 
deference. 

"Those  biscuits,  George,"  said  Ralph,  "were  made 
by  the  President." 

"I  could  grow  eloquent  in  praise  of,  and  hungry 
in  eating,  them,"  said  Colquit. 

Mona  looked  pleased  at  the  pretty  compliment. 

"If  you  can  do  everything  as  well  as  you  have 
these  biscuits,  Miss  Davidge,  when  I  am  Pope  f 
will  put  your  name  down  for  beatification  without 
other  evidence  of  the  good  you  did  to  mankind.  I 
am  sure  that  you  saved  my  life,  for  I  was  starving. 
I  hope  you  have  plenty  of  them." 

"Yes,"  said  Mona,  "I  baked  plenty  of  them,  and 
they  will  not  run  short." 

"Did  you  ever  notice,  George,"  said  Ralph,  "that 
biscuits  and  roast  turkey  are  better  when  cold  ?" 

"When  I  forget  mother's  school  lunches  of  that 
kind  I  hope  I'll  forget  my  name,"  said  Colquit. 

They  were  still  seated  at  the  table  when  Mona's 


CONSIDERING  THE  PACT.          401 

parents  and  Bess  came  in,  and  the  visitors  were 
scarcely  seated,  after  the  introduction,  when  Mr. 
Richter  was  announced.  Richter  had  not  been 
aware  that  Mona  had  been  out  of  town. 

Upon  their  retiring  to  the  parlor,  Mr.  Richter  was 
seated  by  the  side  of  Miss  Story,  and  she  rehearsed 
their  experiences  at  Poughkeepsie,  and  when  she  re 
ferred  to  Mona's  talk  on  the  "Cultivation  of  Char 
acter,"  Mr.  Richter  said,  with  much  animation :  "Oh, 
I  should  like  to  have  heard  it.  I  know  she  is  most 
capable  and  intellectual.  She  is  an  ideal  woman, 
such  as  man  seldom  finds."  He  looked  feelingly  in 
the  direction  of  Mona  while  talking. 

"Miss  Davidge,"  said  Colquit,  "I  feel  a  wild  in 
terest  in  your  new  cult,  and  I  must  say  that  I  like 
it.  Tell  me,  please,  where  you  got  the  idea?" 

"First,"  said  Mona,  "I  deprecate  divorces,  al 
though  I  am  not,  strictly  speaking,  opposed  to  them. 
I  think  marriages  are,  to  a  large  extent,  based  upon 
emotions  rather  than  love.  Emotion  is  well  enough 
in  its  place,  but  as  a  substitute  for  love  in  marriage 
it  falls  very  far  short  of  meeting  the  requirements." 

"Then  you  do  believe  in  divorce?"  asked  Colquit. 

"Yes,  most  decidedly,"  said  Mona,  "rather  than 
an  endless  misery  with  an  uncongenial  partner," 

"I  notice  that  the  Irish  Primate  says,"  continued 


402      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Colquit,  "where  the  marriage  laws  of  the  Catholic 
Church  are  strictly  observed,  a  case  of  separation 
between  husband  and  wife  is  of  very  rare  occur 
rence." 

"That  may  be  true.  Their  subserviency  to  the 
Church  laws  may  compel  them  to  continue  a  life  of 
pain  and  misery,  which  is  perhaps  worse  than  death. 
In  that  case,  the  Church  inflicts  a  punishment  which 
it  could  not  do  except  through  their  greater  fear  of 
the  Church  edicts  against  separation.  The  idea  that 
marriages  are  made  in  heaven  and  consecrated  by 
the  Church  ceremonial  is  a  part  of  the  Church  faith 
of  which  they  are  made  acquainted  before  the  banns 
are  published." 

"Miss  Davidge,  you  have  not  yet  informed  me 
where  you  got  your  idea  of  a  'Courtship  under 
Contract.'  " 

"If  you  will  tell  me  the  origin  of  thought,  I  may 
be  able  to  inform  you,"  said  Mona,  and  then  con 
tinued  :  "I  acknowledge  the  importance  of  sugges 
tion,  and  sometimes  its  connection  with  influenc 
ing  thoughts  is  so  remote  that  its  relation  cannot  be 
denied  nor  yet  acknowledged.  Now,  to  answer  your 
question  in  direct  form  would  involve  that  greater 
one,  What  originates  thought  in  our  brains?  I  have 
very  high  ideals  of  love,  Mr.  Colquit,  and  higher 


CONSIDERING  THE  PACT.          403 

ones,  if  that  can  be,  of  marriage  and  its  holy  respon 
sibilities.  The  many  lives  that  are  wrecked  by  hasty 
and  ill-considered  marriages,  as  shown  by  the  rec 
ords  of  the  divorce  court  published  in  the  daily 
papers,  coupled  with  my  high  standard  of  love  and 
marriage,  may  have  been  the  suggestion  acting  in 
my  mind  that  originated  the  thought. 

"The  subject  of  trial  marriage  was  so  revolting  to 
me  that  I  could  never  endure  to  entertain  the  thought 
of  it,  nor  of  reading  anything  written  on  the  sub 
ject.  The  police  court  records  would  be  more  enter 
taining  to  me,  nauseating  as  they  are,  than  that 
subject." 

"Well,  ah,"  said  Colquit,  coming  tenaciously  back 
to  the  original  question,  "don't  you  admit  that  through 
the  closer  ties  of  marriage,  love  might  grow?" 

"Yes,  it  might  grow,  but  the  negative  possibility 
is  admitted  in  your  question,  and  in  its  occurrence 
we  would  have  but  another  instance  of  a  marriage 
without  love,  involving  a  life  with  'one  who  may 
grow  more  repugnant  to  you  every  day  of  that 
unhappy  life." 

"That  knocks  one's  argument  out  again,"  said 
Colquit. 

"In  the  ordinary  life,"  said  Mona,  "there  are  cer 
tain  accepted  laws  governing  society  which  preclude 


404      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

a  gentleman  from  calling  on  a  lady  without  first  re 
ceiving  an  invitation  to  do  so.  Then,  further,  a 
gentleman  would  never  consider  that  he  had  a  right 
to  call  a  second  time  until  that  lady  signified  that 
he  would  be  welcome.  That,  in  polite  society,  is 
woman's  only  defence  when  her  circle  of  friends  in 
cludes  men  of  refinement  and  culture. 

"You  see  how  very  circumscribed  woman's  field  of 
defence  is,  whereas  with  man  it  is  different.  Both 
before  and  after  marriage  it  is  a  matter  of  pleasure 
merely.  If  he  chooses  to  do  so,  he  can  call  upon  his 
lady  friends  or  not,  and  a  woman  is,  by  convention 
alities,  denied  the  privilege  of  manifesting  her  pref 
erence  for  one  in  whom  she  feels  a  growing  interest. 

"After  marriage,  if  the  husband  grows  indifferent 
or  has  allowed  his  vacillating  nature  to  become  at 
tracted  elsewhere,  he  goes  and  comes  when  he 
pleases,  and  it  would  be  considered  presumptuous 
if  the  neglected  wife  asserted  her  natural  rights  and 
inquired  why  he  was  away  and  where  he  spent  his 
time. 

"Not  so  the  woman.  She  must  have  a  reason  for 
absenting  herself  from  home.  The  man  whose  name 
she  bears  is  entitled  to  a  satisfactory  excuse  for  her 
not  being  at  his  fireside  at  all  times  when  his  Lord 
ship  arrives. 


CONSIDERING  THE  PACT.          405 

"Man  is  a  law  unto  himself,  and  the  custom,  the 
growth  of  centuries,  has  rooted  itself  so  deeply  that 
it  were  futile  for  even  organized  womanhood  to 
attempt  to  eradicate  it." 

Realizing  that  she  had  done  nearly  all  the  talk 
ing,  Mona  said:  "Tell  us,  Mr.  Colquit,  why  you 
never  married,  if  it  is  not  trenching  on  your 
feelings?" 

"By  no  means,"  said  Colquit.  "If  I  were  to  give 
an  answer  that  would  be  true  I  would  say  that  it  is 
because  I  really  have  never  been  in  love,  for  if  I  had 
been  touched  by  the  genuine  article,  the  specious 
reasons  that  have  asserted  themselves :  'Not  enough 
salary,'  'my  occupation  taking  me  away  from  home,' 
or  'being  tied  down  to  one  woman,'  would  not  have 
availed,  for  I  know  other  men  who  are  married  and 
who  live  on  less  salary;  married  men  also  travel  as 
drummers,  and  other  men  concentrate  their  mind  on 
one  woman.  I  believe  that  I  have  never  met  a 
woman  attractive  enough  for  me.  I  have  generally 
found  women  with  handsome  faces,  or  otherwise 
more  than  usually  attractive,  so  spoiled  that  I  could 
not  admire  them;  hence  I  antagonize  the  growing 
feeling  of  affection.  Perhaps  if  I  had  met  a  woman 
of  your  attainments,  and  I  was  acceptable,  I  might 
have  been  a  Benedick  long  ago." 


406      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you  that  you  might  not 
have  been  so  far  above  those  ladies  who  attracted  your 
unwilling  admiration  in  desirable  attainments  as  you 
conceived  yourself  to  be,  and  that  you  might  not 
have  been  making  any  sacrifice  of  your  dignity  or 
self-respect  had  you  not  withheld  your  growing  ad 
miration  for  them?  Is  there  no  other  'perhaps'  of 
which  you  have  not  informed  us?  I  fear  that  you 
conduct  your  life  along  such  selfish  lines  that  you 
have  not  fairly  considered  the  merits  of  those  whom 
you  have  eliminated  from  your  eligible  list  of  recipi 
ents  of  your  regard.  Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you 
that  you  may  not  be  as  perfect  as  the  divinity  you 
are  looking  for,  and  that  perhaps  you  have  over 
looked  much  real  worth  in  some  of  those  that  com 
pelled  your  admiration?" 

"Miss  Davidge,  I  must  admit  that  selfishness  may 
have  been  back  of  all  my  mature  life.  I  admit  that 
I  have  thought  most  of  the  fact  that  if  I  married  I 
would  have  to  make  personal  sacrifices  or  secure  a 
more  lucrative  employment." 

Mrs.  Davidge  had  not  had  an  opportunity  of 
speaking  to  Mona  about  her  trip,  so  she  interposed 
the  question  as  to  how  she  had  enjoyed  her  visit  to 
Poughkeepsie. 

"We  had  a  very  nice  time,  mama," 


CONSIDERING  THE  PACT.          407 

"Mrs.  Davidge,"  said  Miss  Story,  "I  will  tell  you 
all  about  her  great  triumphs,  for  Mona  will  not  tell 
you  half  about  the  honors  that  were  heaped  upon 
her." 

"Very  well,  Miss  Story,"  said  Mrs.  Davidge,  "I 
will  invite  you  and  Bessie  to  take  lunch  with  me  to 
morrow  at  twelve,  and  Mona  must  not  come  until 
one." 

Each  of  the  girls  signified  her  delight  and  pleasure, 
and  promised  to  come. 

When  Mr.  Colquit  rose  to  go,  Miss  Story  said: 
"I  fear,  Mr.  Colquit,  that  you  do  not  like  my  native 
State." 

"Yes,  I  do,  Miss  Story.  I  love  it  for  its  eccen 
tricities  and  its  originality.  It  is  never  monotonous. 
Didn't  it  give  us  the  sensation  of  'Sockless  Jerry,' 
'Peffer's  whiskers,'  'Carrie  Nation,'  all  developed 
and  produced  for  the  occasion?  And  didn't  it  give 
us  a  writer  of  doggerels  to  sit  in  the  chair  of  a 
Bureau  Chief,  which  had  been  filled  by  a  Dudley 
and  a  Loughman?  Besides  all  these  luminaries,  it 
gives  to  us  traveling  men  some  of  the  worst  or  poor 
est  two-dollar-a-day  hotels  in  the  country.  I  always 
like  variety,  hence  I  love  Kansas." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  day  after  Colquit's  visit,  Miss  Story  received 
a  letter  from  her  mother  telling  her  that  she  must 
not  fail  to  call  upon  her  aunt  and  cousins  while  in 
New  York.  She  had  planned  to  leave  on  the  second 
day  thereafter,  hence  must  make  the  visit  that  even 
ing  or  not  at  all.  She  urged  Mona  to  accompany  her, 
because  she  had  never  met  her  cousins,  and  she  was 
a  stranger  in  the  city  and  might  lose  her  way.  It 
was  agreed  to  go  up  that  evening. 

They  had  not  been  gone  long,  and  Ralph  was 
scanning  the  evening  paper,  when  Mr.  Davidge  and 
Mr.  Richter  called  together.  Richter  had  moved  his 
quarters,  and  was  not  far  from  the  Davidge  home. 
He  had  met  Mr.  Davidge  near  the  Park,  in  which 
he  took  great  pleasure  visiting  since  his  removal  to 
that  part  of  the  city. 

They  had  been  discussing  the  baneful  influence  of 
high  finance,  as  the  robbing  tendency  of  that  class 

408 


THE  LAW  RESPONSIBLE.          409 

of  speculation  had  become  permanently  stamped, 
when  they  were  admitted  to  Mona's  cosy  sitting- 
room,  and  there  found  Ralph,  as  Mr.  Davidge  was 
saying :  "It  is  enigmatical.  He  has  a  hold  upon  the 
common  people — the  small  buyers — which  is  phe 
nomenal.  His  following  is  world-wide  and  his  mode 
of  advertising  his  financial  wares  and  opinions  is 
catchy  and  very  effective,  for  it  has  been  observed 
that  buying,  principally  small  buying,  follows  the 
publication  of  his  advertisements." 

"There  is  no  doubt,"  said  Richter,  "that  he  is 
bullish  when  he  gets  a  lot  of  stock  low,  and  bear 
ish  when  he  wants  his  following  to  keep  out  of  the 
market.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Socialist 
party  is  gaining  membership  fast  from  the  ranks  of 
the  workingman?  Here  is  an  instance  where  the 
treasury  of  one  company  was  evidently  looted,  and 
then  the  company  wiped  out  and  new  stock  issued 
under  another  name,  in  order  to  replenish  the  bank 
rupt  concern,  and  all  this  done  within  the  pale  of 
the  law. 

"There  seems  to  be  no  law  on  the  books  that  will 
reach  these  buccaneers  of  finance.  They  rob  openly 
and  above  board,  and  it  is  the  small  investor  that 
is  caught. 

"The  workingman  sees  every  day  that  the  law 


410      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

is  applied  immediately  to  a  misdemeanor  in  his 
class  and  that  the  penalty  follows  with  a  celerity 
that  is  cyclonic,  while  he  sees  also  that  robbery  on 
a  large  scale  can  be  perpetrated  within  the  sanction 
of  the  law,  and  the  greater  malefactor  cannot  be 
punished.  Cases  of  this  kind  create  discontent  with 
the  law,  and  discontent  breeds  anarchy. 

"Laws  that  will  permit  this  kind  of  robbery  and 
protect  the  wrong-doer  should  be  wiped  off  the 
statute-books.  Their  existence  and  successful  invo 
cation  by  this  class  of  robbers  forges  the  cry  of  the 
Anarchist,  who,  in  his  desperation,  cries:  'Down 
with  the  law.' 

"While  these  legalized  freebooters  travel  in  pri 
vate  yachts,  private  trains,  and  gilded  autos,  the 
plucked  goose  wonders  why  the  Law  cannot  take 
hold  of  those  who  rob  by  the  million.  They,  nor 
you  either,  cannot  reason  out  why  these  scheming 
wreckers  of  corporations  can  do  these  despoiling 
acts  within  the  Law." 

"Of  course,  these  misguided  and  confiding  dupes 
make  such  acts  possible  by  giving  powers  of  attorney 
to  the  manipulators  who  act  for  them,"  said  Mr. 
Davidge,  "and  thus  legalize  their  acts." 

"True,  these  acts  are  legalized  by  power  of  at- 


THE  LAW  RESPONSIBLE.          411 

torney  given  them,  but  the  authority  to  act  for  them 
did  not  contemplate  such  robbing  and  wrecking  of 
property." 

"It  will  not  be  long  before  we  shall  have  to  deal 
with  these  upper  thieves  and  wreckers  with  an  iron 
hand  to  preserve  our  country  from  Anarchy,"  said 
Ralph.  "If  the  Law  fails  to  reach  the  puggard, 
except  of  the  petty  class,  there  will  be  an  uprising 
of  the  masses  with  a  rope  and  a  noose,  and  it  will 
be  short  shrift  for  some  of  the  high-toned  offenders. 

"The  laws  ought  to  be  broadened  to  the  end  that 
a  directorate  in  a  railway  board  or  in  any  corpora 
tion  means  more  than  drawing  a  fee  for  attendance 
at  a  board  meeting.  It  ought  to  carry  with  it  a  share 
of  the  responsibility  for  the  acts  of  the  corporation 
or  of  neglected  duties.  I  contend  that  if  a  railroad, 
for  instance,  neglects  repair  of  tracks  or  the  roll 
ing  stock,  and  thereby  endangers  the  lives  of  the 
traveling  public  or  its  employees,  their  charter 
should  be  legally  attacked  in  every  State  through 
which  they  may  go,  with  a  view  to  its  cancellation 
or  revocation." 

"A  friend  was  relating  to  me  his  experience  in 
Kansas  at  a  little  town  called  Hoisington,  I  think," 
said  Mr.  Davidge,  "whence  he  was  anxious  to  go 


412   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

westward  before  the  midnight  passenger  train  was 
due.  The  telegraph  was  put  to  work  and  permis 
sion  was  granted  for  him  to  go  by  freight,  if  he 
had  a  first-class  ticket,  which  he  bought,  and  then 
started  to  find  the  caboose,  which  he  found  on 
the  siding.  That  is  a  division  point  where  trains 
are  made  up. 

"When  the  trainmen  came  to  the  caboose  they 
swore  roundly  because  of  orders  to  take  that  par 
ticular  caboose.  They  said  it  was  condemned  for 
necessary  repairs  and  was  not  safe.  They  said  that 
they  feared  to  ride  in  it  and  they  felt  worse  when 
they  had  a  passenger. 

"The  caboose  was  all  lop-sided  and  as  filthy  with 
dirt  and  dust  as  it  could  well  be.  A  storm  came  up 
during  the  night,  and  owing  to  the  inability  of  the 
engine  to  ascend  the  grades,  they  lost  a  lot  of  time, 
and  it  was  well  in  the  night  when  the  passenger 
asked  the  conductor  how  soon  he  would  reach  his 
destination.  He  was  informed  that  they  'May  not 
reach  there  that  night,  for  if  the  storm  kept  up,  they 
would  run  into  a  siding  and  stay  there  all  night ;  that 
the  road-bed  was  so  soft  that  he  was  not  going  to 
risk  his  life  on  it.' 

"It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  array  of 
killed  and  injured  on  railroads  in  a  single  year  looms 


THE  LAW  RESPONSIBLE.          413 

away  up  in  die  thousand,  for  in  order  to  pay  divi 
dends  on  watered  stock  and  high  salaries  to  offi 
cials,  the  road  must  be  neglected  and  become  run 
down  to  the  danger  point,  as  that  Western  road 
was." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

The  day  after  Miss  Story  visited  her  aunt  she 
left  Mona's  rooms  early,  because  she  wanted  a  few 
hours'  time  to  shop  before  taking  the  train  for  the 
West. 

"Mona,  dear,"  said  Miss  Story,  when  they  were 
in  Mona's  room,  and  Miss  Story  was  preparing  to 
depart,  "I  think  Mr.  Guy  is  very  handsome,  and 
he  has  an  engaging  manner,  and  I  hope  if  you 
marry  him  you  will  be  altogether  happy.  I  have 
not  seen  you  wear  an  engagement  ring ;  how  is  that  ? 
You  are  engaged  to  him,  are  you  not?" 

"Yes,  we  are  engaged,  legally,  but  I  preferred 
not  to  accept  an  engagement  ring  until  I  felt  con 
vinced  of  a  growing  love  for  him." 

"Well,  but—  '  began  Miss  Story,  when  Mona 
interrupted  her: 

"Dear,  don't  ask  me  any  more  now,  please.  You 
will  know  all  in  good  time;  all  that  there  is  to 
know." 

414 


NOTICE  SERVED.  415 

"Forgive  me,  Mona,  but  I  am  so  wrapped-up  in 
this  move  of  yours  that  I  was  verging  on  to  impo 
lite  curiosity.  Kiss  me,  dear,  and  say  you  forgive 
me." 

"Why,  dear,  I  have  nothing  to  forgive,"  and 
Mona  kissed  her  affectionately,  and  Miss  Story  took 
her  departure. 

Mona  called  her  housekeeper  and  informed  her 
that  she  would  not  return  until  after  four,  and  if 
she  desired  she  could  go  out  herself  until  that  hour. 

Mona  went  down  town  and  directly  to  her  father's 
office.  She  was  told  that  Mr.  Davidge  was  engaged 
in  taking  testimony  in  a  referee  case. 

"What  name  shall  I  take  in,  please  ?  He  may  see 
you,"  said  the  reception-room  boy. 

"You  may  tell  him  that  a  client  wishes  to  speak 
with  him  for  just  a  minute,"  and  Mona  seated  her 
self  in  a  window  looking  out  on  the  Town  of 
Skyscrapers. 

"Mr.  Davidge  will  be  out  in  a  minute,"  said  the 
messenger. 

"Thank  you,"  said  Mona. 

Mr.  Davidge  came  soon,  and  expressed  surprise 
at  seeing  his  daughter. 

"Is  there  anything  wrong,  daughter?" 

"No,  papa,  nothing  wrong.    You  remember  that  I 


4i6      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

retained  you  in  a  matrimonial  case  recently.  I  come 
now  to  consult  you  relative  to  that  case.  I  will 
invite  you  to  lunch  with  me,  or  you  can  take  me  to 
lunch,  just  as  you  choose  to  phrase  it.  How  soon 
do  you  go?"  asked  Mona. 

"In  about  thirty  minutes,"  said  her  father,  after 
consulting  his  watch. 

"Very  well,"  said  Mona;  "I  have  a  paper  to  read 
and  plenty  of  time,  so  don't  permit  my  coming  to 
hurry  you.  I  can  wait." 

"Very  well.  I  will  join  you  in  a  half  hour,"  said 
the  father,  then  turning  to  the  boy,  he  said :  "Take 
my  daughter  into  my  private  office." 

The  father  joined  her  shortly  after  the  adjourn 
ment  of  the  hearing,  and  they  went  to  a  near-by  cafe 
and  ordered  lunch.  Mona  was  the  only  female  in 
that  part  of  the  place.  When  they  were  seated,  the 
anxiety  of  Mr.  Davidge  was  manifested  by,  "Well, 
daughter,  tell  me  what  unusual  thing  has  occurred." 

"Nothing  unusual,  papa.  I  have  been  convinced 
that  I  cannot  love  Mr.  Guy,  and  I  propose  to  termi 
nate  our  engagement  now.  I  will  not  marry  him 
ever,  and  it  is  not  right  to  keep  him  in  suspense.  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  this  effect  just  a  day  or  two 
before  I  went  to  Poughkeepsie,  but  I  deferred  this 
action  until  the  trip  and  the  meeting  were  over. 


NOTICE  SERVED.  417 

"I  need  your  advice  now  on  the  question  of  obli 
gation.  Am  I  required  under  the  contract  to  give 
reasons  for  my  action?  I  do  not  fear  the  duty,  if 
it  is  my  duty.  Of  course,  if  Mr.  Guy  insists  upon 
it,  then  it  shall  not  be  a  question  of  whether  or  not 
the  contract  requires  it." 

"What  do  you  wish  me  to  do,  Mona?" 

"As  my  attorney,  should  I  not  serve  notice  upon 
you  to  take  action  looking  to  a  severance  of  the 
co-partnership  agreement  ?" 

"I  think  that  is  proper." 

"Ought  it  to  be  in  writing?" 

"Yes,  it  should  be  in  writing." 

"Then  after  luncheon  I  will  return  to  your  office 
and  write  it,  and  you  can  call  Mr.  Guy  to  your  office 
by  telephone,  and  present  it.  Now,  let  us  eat,  and 
forget  business.  What  a  delightful  place  this  is, 
papa.  I  think  I  will  have  to  consult  you  often,  if 
this  courtesy  is  to  be  extended  always,"  said  Mona, 
laughing. 

"Does  your  mother  know  of  your  determina 
tion?" 

"Do  you  think  I  would  complicate  matters  by  tak 
ing  any  person  into  my  confidence  before  I  had  been 
advised  by  my  attorney?  No,  she  knows  nothing 
of  it." 


4i8      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"What  do  you  propose  about  the  disposition  of 
the  furniture?" 

"Selling  it  off  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  divide 
the  proceeds." 

"When?" 

"Saturday  next,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  the 
auctioneer  will  require  time  to  arrange  his  list  for 
advertising.  This  is  Tuesday.  He  must  know 
nothing  about  our  affairs." 

When  they  returned  to  the  office  and  Mona  was 
seated  at  the  desk  with  pen  in  hand,  a  wave  of  com 
passion  took  possession  of  her  as  she  thought  of 
Ralph's  disappointment.  It  was  quickly  followed 
by  the  conviction  that  his  disappointment  was 
nothing  compared  to  her  life-long  regret  if  she 
had  married  him  long  ago,  without  the  knowledge 
that  she  had  not  loved  him. 

She  wrote: 

"MR.  GEORGE  DAVIDGE, 
"New  York,  N.  Y. : 

"SiR — As  counsel  in  the  matter  of  the  contract 
between  Mona  W.  Davidge  and  Mr.  Ralph  Guy,  rel 
ative  to  the  period  of  home  life  between  the  par 
ties,  in  which  provision  was  made  for  its  termina- 


NOTICE  SERVED.  419 

tion  upon  the  motion  of  either  of  the  parties  con 
cerned  : 

"I,  Mona  W.  Davidge,  party  of  the  first  part, 
hereby  request  you  to  inform  Mr.  Ralph  Guy  that 
it  is  my  will  that  the  said  contract  be  terminated  on 

the  day  of  ,  1908. 

"MONA  W.  DAVIDGS." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

When  Mona  had  completed  her  legal  notification 
and  sealed  it  in  an  envelope  addressed  to  George 
Davidge,  Esq.,  and  had  placed  it  on  his  desk,  she 
took  an  up-town  car  to  Macy's,  where  she  did  some 
shopping,  and  went  home. 

Her  housekeeper  met  her  at  the  door,  and  told  her 
that  she  was  awfully  sorry,  but  she  must  leave  her 
because  of  the  severe  accident  to  her  favorite 
niece's  husband,  and  she  must  go  home  to  take 
charge  of  the  house.  She  showed  Mona  the  tele 
gram  in  proof  of  her  statement.  Mona  expressed 
her  sympathy  for  the  nephew-in-law,  and  asked  her 
when  she  desired  to  go,  and  was  answered  with  the 
question  how  soon  she  could  get  the  train. 

Mona  telephoned  to  the  Grand  Central,  and 
learned  that  she  could  get  one  in  about  two  hours, 
and  she  also  'phoned  for  the  express  to  take  the 
trunk,  which  Mrs.  Carter  had  packed  and  strapped. 

420 


RALPH  RECEIVES  NOTICE         421 

She  volunteered  to  accompany  her  to  the  station,  but 
Mrs.  Carter  thought  if  she  attended  to  the  checking 
of  the  trunk  and  placed  her  on  the  "L"  road  she 
could  get  along  herself.  In  a  few  minutes  she  and 
her  trunk  were  on  the  way,  and  Mona  returned  to 
the  flat,  desiring  to  be  there  when  Ralph  arrived. 

She  proceeded  to  get  dinner,  Mrs.  Carter  having 
things  pretty  well  under  way,  except  the  tea  biscuits, 
which  Mona  always  made.  Ralph  was  later  that 
evening  than  usual.  Dinner  was  ready  to  serve  when 
he  arrived. 

Ralph  immediately  went  to  his  room  until  the 
gong  announced  that  dinner  was  ready,  when  he 
came  to  the  table  looking  worried,  and  sat  down 
without  saying  anything,  not  even  "good-evening." 

Mona  passed  him  the  carving-knife  and  said, 
"Good-evening,  Ralph." 

This  seemed  to  arouse  him  from  his  abstraction, 
and  instead  of  returning  the  salutation,  he  said :  "I 
was  very  much  surprised,  Mona,  this  afternoon 
when  your  father,  after  calling  me  to  his  office, 
announced  that  which  I  have  feared  for  two  weeks, 
that  you  desired  to  terminate  the  engagement.  I 
am  so  cast  down  about  it  that  I  don't  know  how  to 
express  myself.  Of  course,  you  have  the  right  to 
do  so  under  the  contract,  and  I  can  raise  no  protest, 


422      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

however  badly  I  may  feel.  It  is  very  humiliating 
for  me,  for  everybody  will  know  that  I  did  not  ask 
its  termination." 

Mona  sat  looking  for  him  to  raise  his  eyes  to 
her  face,  and  observed  that  his  injured  pride  seemed 
all-dominant.  "Is  it  purely  a  business  consideration 
that  worries  him  and  casts  him  down?"  queried 
Mona  to  herself.  The  sorrow  that  she  had  at  first 
felt  for  him  in  her  father's  office  was  wasted.  It 
seemed  to  her  that  it  was  business  or  commercial 
disappointment,  and  hurt  pride  only,  from  which 
he  suffered.  She  now,  more  than  ever  before,  saw 
the  wisdom  of  the  few  months'  test,  and  oh,  how 
glad  she  was  that  she  had  not  married  him  when 
the  impulse  was  strong  within  her  to  do  so,  and 
he  pressed  his  suit.  Disappointment  would  ere  this 
be  gnawing  at  her  heart,  and  she  would  have  to 
abide  it  in  silence.  This  and  much  more  passed 
before  her  mental  vision,  and  the  pity  she  had  at 
first  felt  for  him  was  now  wholly  effaced  from  her 
thoughts,  while  congratulation  and  the  happy  hope 
took  root  in  her  heart. 

"Will  you  remain  here  to-night?"  was  uttered  by 
Ralph,  which  broke  into  her  serious  thoughts. 

"If  you  desire  that  I  do,  yes.  Mrs.  Carter  was 
unexpectedly  called  home  by  telegram  announcing 


THE  SEPARATION.  423 

that  her  niece's  husband  was  badly  hurt,  so  she  has 
gone,  and  will  not  be  back,"  said  Mona. 

"Then  there  is  no  occasion  for  you  to  remain. 
I  will  sleep  here,  and  as  Mrs.  Carter  is  not  here, 
perhaps  you  had  better  let  me  escort  you  home  after 
dinner." 

"Very  well,"  said  Mona. 

"Have  you  told  any  person  your  intention;  did 
you  inform  Miss  Story  before  she  left?"  asked 
Ralph. 

"No.  Ttold  no  person  except  my  father,  and  I 
only  told  him  at  luncheon  to-day.  I  went  to  his 
office  and  told  him  of  my  intention.  He  had  no  ad 
vice  to  give  me.  I  needed  none.  It  was  a  matter 
that  I  alone  was  interested  in;  hence  I  said  nothing 
to  any  person.  Mama  will  not  know  it  until  father 
informs  her  of  it." 

"Mona,  you  are  a  remarkable  girl.  Your  refus 
ing  an  engagement-ring  from  me  was  the  one  great 
est  surprise  I  met  in  you,  for  there  never  was,  I 
guess,  another  girl  who  acknowledged  an  engage 
ment  and  refused  a  proffered  token  ring." 

"As  long  as  there  was  the  conditional  contract 
existing  there  was  always  the  possibility  of  a  change 
of  mind,  hence  it  would  not  have  been  right  to  have 
permitted  you  to  go  to  that  expense,"  said  Mona. 


424   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

"Shall  I  call  up  your  mother,  or  will  you  tell  her 
that  you  will  be  home  on  account  of  Mrs.  Carter's 
absence  ?" 

"You  might  do  so  while  I  am  clearing  the  table, 
but  do  not  put  forth  the  excuse  you  mention.  It 
would  not  be  honest.  Mrs.  Carter's  presence  was 
never  my  safeguard.  I  always  believed  you  to  be 
a  man  of  honor  and  that  my  honor  was  safe,"  said 
Mona. 

Ralph  called  up  Mrs.  Davidge,  and  told  her  that 
Mona  would  be  home  that  night.  He  said  that  he 
would  accompany  her.  He  also  said  that  Mrs. 
Carter  had  been  called  home  by  telegram,  and  had 
already  gone. 

"Have  you  thought  about  the  disposal  of  our 
furniture  ?" 

"Yes,  and  of  that  I  want  to  consult  you.  My 
thought  is  that  it  is  best  to  have  it  auctioned  off.  I 
suppose  you  will  want  your  furniture  saved  from 
the  sale." 

"Yes,  I  wish  you  would." 

"There  is  nothing  that  I  care  to  save,  so  it  all 
can  be  turned  over  at  once.  I  will  come  down  to 
morrow  and  get  my  trunk  and  clothing  and  things 
personal." 

Ralph's  demeanor  was  constantly  under  the  scru- 


THE  SEPARATION.  425 

tiny,  mental  as  well  as  physical,  of  Mona's  dis 
criminating  vision,  and  every  minute's  time  since 
he  came  to  the  table  was  one  of  confirmation  of  the 
wisdom  of  her  decision  to  sever  the  relations  exist 
ing.  Where  a  doubt  had  been  intruding  upon  her 
interpretation  of  some  act  of  Ralph's,  that  doubt 
now  took  flight  and  left  her  mind  clear,  and  she  was 
altogether  happy  over  her  decision. 

When  the  house  had  been  put  to  rights  to  Mona's 
satisfaction,  she  adjusted  her  hat,  and  Ralph  lighted 
a  cigar,  and  they  strolled  forth  together  for  the  last 
time — she  with  a  light  heart,  and  he  with  disap 
pointed  hopes. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davidge  met  them  at  the  door  and 
welcomed  them  as  they  had  always  been  welcomed 
before.  Perhaps  the  motherly  heart  was  a  little 
more  warmly  inclined  when  she  kissed  her  daughter 
and  shook  hands  with  Ralph. 

Conversation  took  a  general  turn  for  a  few  min 
utes,  with  the  one  subject  in  the  minds  of  all,  when 
Ralph  asked  Mrs.  Davidge  if  she  was  not  much  sur 
prised  at  the  news  which  her  husband  imparted  to 
her  that  evening  when  he  returned. 

"I  was  indeed  very  much  surprised,  but  it  being 
a  question  of  my  daughter's  happiness,  I  rejoiced 
that  she  has  seen  the  right  before  it  was  too  late. 


426   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Happiness  is  the  one  greatest  boon  that  we  can 
hope  for  in  this  life,  and  I  hope  my  daughter  may 
find  it  in  marriage,  or  remain  single  all  her  life," 
said  Mrs.  Davidge. 

"I  hope  Mona  will  find  the  man  that  will  at  least 
approach  her  ideal.  I  have  no  thought  that  because 
my  stature  does  not  measure  up  to  that  height,  such 
does  not  exist,  and  I  trust  such  an  one  will  be  forth 
coming.  My  mother  will  be  very  much  broken  up 
when  I  write  her  that  her  dream  was  in  vain.  She 
looked  upon  Mona  as  an  ideal  woman,  and  longed 
to  have  her  for  her  daughter.  It  will  be  a  severe 
blow  to  her." 

It  was  evident  that  Ralph  knew  his  shortcomings, 
for  he  failed  to  ask  Mona  her  reasons  for  her  change 
in  mind.  He  arose  to  go,  and  shook  hands  with 
them,  and  said  that  he  would  move  his  belongings 
on  the  morrow  back  to  his  old  rooms.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Davidge  each  asked  him  to  call  upon  them  any 
time  that  he  felt  like  it.  He  bade  them  good-night, 
and  thanked  them  for  the  invitation,  without  saying 
that  he  would  avail  himself  of  it. 

When  he  reached  his  rooms  Ralph  sat  moodily 
in  his  arm-chair  for  a  few  moments,  with  his  hands 
thrust  deep  in  his  pockets  and  his  limbs  stretched 
full  length,  with  his  chin  resting  on  his  chest.  He 


THE  SEPARATION.  427 

then  opened  his  portfolio,  where  there  was  writing 
material,  and  began  writing  a  letter  to  his  mother. 

"DEAR  MOTHER  :  All  is  over  between  Mona  and 
myself.  My  dream  is  at  an  end,  and  she  has  re 
turned  to  her  parents.  There  was  no  ill-feeling, 
nor  words,  nor  outbreak.  I  write  you,  knowing 
that  you  will  feel  genuine  sorrow.  I  have  seen  the 
event  coming  for  a  week  or  two,  at  least,  and  to-day 
it  culminated  in  Mr.  Davidge  serving  a  legal  notice 
upon  me  that  Mona  desired  the  termination  of  our 
contract.  I  have  just  returned  from  escorting  her 
to  her  home. 

"I  do  not  feel  it  in  my  heart  to  find  fault  with 
the  girl,  nor  with  any  one  but  myself.  I  am  satis 
fied  that  I  could  never  make  her  happy.  It  was 
evident  to  me  that  I  fell  far  short  of  her  ideal,  and 
could  not  inspire  in  her  the  love  that  she  felt  must 
obtain  between  herself  and  the  man  that  she  should 
wed.  I  cannot  conscientiously  say  that  her  ideals 
are  unreasonable  or  too  high,  but  I  am  confident  that 
my  temperament  rendered  me  unsuited  to  her.  You 
no  doubt  know  my  disposition  best,  and  might  have 
foreseen  my  utter  inability  to  attain  the  high  standard 
that  she  aimed  at,  both  in  manhood  and  womanhood. 
"Your  affectionate  son,  RAI<PH." 


428      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

Several  evenings  after  the  closing  event  in  the 
separation  of  Ralph  and  Mona,  Mr.  Davidge  met 
Richter  near  the  Park  while  out  on  an  evening  stroll, 
and  was  asked  by  Richter  where  Mr.  Guy  and  Miss 
Davidge  had  moved  to,  saying  that  he  had  called 
at  their  rooms,  and  was  informed  by  a  servant  that 
they  did  not  live  there.  Mr.  Davidge  informed 
him  that  they  were  not  living  together,  that  Mona 
was  at  home  with  her  mother  again,  and  invited  him 
to  call  at  their  rooms,  and  gave  him  his  card.  He 
told  Richter  that  their  housekeeping  effects  would 
be  auctioned  off  and  the  affair  wound  up  amicably. 

Richter  took  interest  in  the  news,  and  said  that 
it  would  give  him  great  pleasure  to  call  at  an  early 
day. 

The  next  day  he  called  upon  Ralph  at  his  office, 
and  learned  that  the  house  furniture  would  be  sold 
at  auction  rooms  on  Madison  Avenue,  and  Richter 
made  note  of  the  location,  saying  that  he  desired 
some  furniture  for  himself,  and  that  he  would  like 
to  get  that  used  by  his  best  friends,  because  of  its 
association. 

Richter  called  within  a  few  evenings  upon  the 
Davidge  household,  and  was  warmly  received  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davidge,  who  informed  him  that 


THE  SURPRISE.  429 

Mona  was  spending  the  evening  at  Miss  Bessie's 
home. 

"I  am  quite  sure  that  you  would  be  welcome,  so, 
if  you  have  no  objection,  I  will  call  Bessie  up  and 
inform  her  that  you  are  coming  over." 

"I  should  like  very  much  to  go,  upon  your  assur 
ance  that  I  would  be  welcome,"  said  Richter. 

Mrs.  Davidge  called  Bessie  up,  and  informed  her 
to  that  effect. 

Bessie's  parlor  presented  quite  an  animated  scene, 
created  by  some  half-dozen  beautifully-costumed 
young  ladies.  They  were  seated  around  the  room, 
attentively  listening  to  the  rendition  of  the  over 
ture  from  "Cavalleria  Rusticana,"  and  Mona  was  at 
the  musician's  side,  engaged  in  turning  the  music, 
hence  she  did  not  see  Mr.  Richter  when  he  entered. 
Bess  was  at  the  parlor-door  on  the  watch  for  him, 
took  charge  of  him,  and  conducted  him  in  and  intro 
duced  him  to  her  aunt,  Miss  Duvall,  from  Newark, 
who  engaged  him  in  conversation  in  subdued  tones 
until  the  music  ceased. 

Mona  and  her  companion  at  the  piano  were  bus 
ily  engaged  in  a  search  for  some  particular  piece  of 
music,  when  Bess  took  Mr.  Richter  by  the  arm  and 
escorted  him  to  where  Mona  was  with  her  back 


430      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

toward  him,  and  in  consequence  had  not  seen  him  as 
yet,  and  when  Bess  said  aloud,  "Mona,  here  is  a 
caller  for  you,"  she  turned  and  gave  him  a  smile  of 
welcome,  with  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand. 

"Mr.  Richter,  I  am  delighted  to  see  you,  but  this 
meeting  is  quite  a  surprise.  Miss  Goebel,"  said  she, 
addressing  the  lady  at  her  side,  "permit  me  to  pre 
sent  Mr.  Richter."  There  was  a  momentary  pause, 
during  which  it  was  observed  that  Miss  Goebel 
turned  very  pale,  when  every  drop  of  blood  seemed 
to  desert  her  face,  and  it  was  fortunate  that  her 
hand  had  rested  upon  the  edge  of  the  open  piano, 
for  her  grip  saved  her  from  falling.  She  was  too 
thunderstruck  to  acknowledge  the  introduction,  ex 
cept  by  an  inaudible  attempt  to  repeat  Mr.  Rich- 
ter's  name. 

Mr.  Richter,  who  recognized  her  at  first  glance, 
was  quick  to  perceive  her  extreme  discomfort  and 
misery,  bowed  in  acknowledgment  of  the  introduc 
tion,  and  then  partially  turned  from  her  in  facing 
Mona,  upon  whose  face  he  was  pained  to  see  a 
recognition  of  this  mysterious  little  by-play.  He  en 
tered  into  conversation  with  Mona,  charging  her 
laughingly  with  having  "folded  her  tents,  like  the 
Arab,  and  as  silently  stolen  away."  He  continued  to 
talk  in  a  light  vein,  in  a  voice  pitched  loud  enough  to 


THE  SURPRISE.  431 

render  every  word  audible  to  Miss  Goebel,  who,  by 
an  extreme  effort  of  will-power,  recovered  her  facul 
ties  and  was  soon  chatting  pleasantly  with  Bess. 

The  deathly  pallor  that  had  taken  possession  of 
Miss  Goebel,  which  attracted  Mona's  attention 
and  interest,  while  conversing  with  Richter,  gradu 
ally  died  away — not  so  the  continued  observation 
of  Mona,  who  evidently  seemed  much  puzzled  over 
the  situation. 

Bess,  by  whom  the  incident  was  not  noticed,  un 
wittingly  served  to  relieve  the  situation  by  asking 
Mr.  Richter  if  he  would  not  afford  them  the  pleas 
ure  of  a  song. 

"But  Miss  Bessie,  I  am  not  on  the  programme  for 
a  song  to-night,"  said  Mr.  Richter,  laughing.  "I 
am  very  certain  that  my  unpracticed  fingers  and 
voice  would  jar  on  the  musical  sensibilities  of  the 
ladies  present,  including  my  hostess,  who  have  been 
listening  to  Miss  Goebel's  artistic  touch.  I  am  not 
so  deficient  as  not  to  have  readily  recognized  her 
master  hand,  and  I  am  not  convinced  that  she  has  not 
had  a  German  master.  Do  you  play  that  soul-stirring 
'Kreutzer  Sonata,'  Miss  Goebel?  It  is  some  time 
since  I  listened  to  it  from  a  finished  musician.  Will 
you  favor  me  with  it?" 

"After  you,  Alfonso,"  said  Miss  Goebel,  mock- 


432      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

ingly  laying  her  hand  over  her  heart  while  making 
a  low  bow,  and  her  merry  laugh  evidenced  her  com 
plete  recovery  of  self. 

"Then  may  I  crave  that  you  will  accompany  me 
in  'The  Quest,'  and  I  will  try  it?" 

Glad  of  the  opportunity  to  be  with  him  alone  for 
the  moment,  Miss  Goebel  consented,  and  both 
searched  through  the  music  cabinet  until  they  found 
it,  and  while  it  was  being  opened  on  the  piano,  Mona 
and  Bess  sought  chairs  at  a  distant  part  of  the 
parlor. 

"Mr.  Richter,  I  am  unable  to  explain  to  you  the 
double  role  in  which  you  have  found  me,  but " 

"Miss  Goebel,  try  to  believe  me  a  man  of  honor. 
Your  actions  could  not  be  but  upright,  and  what  I 
witnessed  is  locked  in  my  breast.  Do  not  worry." 

"Thank  you  for  the  confidence,"  said  Miss  Goe 
bel,  and  when  their  eyes  met  hers  quickly  sent  forth 
the  effulgence  of  love's  current  unchecked,  which  to 
one  more  worldly  than  Richter  would  have  given 
away  the  secret  of  a  heart.  He  saw  only  the  soulful 
gratitude  of  an  unsophisticated,  pure  woman. 

Richter  sang  in  a  strong,  sweet  tenor,  full  of 
feeling,  with  a  tone  of  pathos,  and  when  the  ap 
plause  was  so  prolonged,  he  felt  impelled  to  sing  a 
German  college  song,  using  the  German,  for  which 


THE  SURPRISE.  433 

he  necessarily  had  to  play  his  own  accompaniment. 
He  then  sang  a  serenade  in  German,  and  his  playing 
showed  a  delicacy  of  touch  seldom  heard  from 
males. 

Miss  Goebel,  who  had  taken  a  seat  not  far  from 
the  piano,  was  loud  in  her  hand-clapping,  and  'when 
Richter  had  finished  the  serenade,  he  advanced  to 
where  she  sat  and  gallantly  tendered  his  arm  as 
escort  to  the  piano,  and  then  turned  the  music  for 
her  during  her  play. 

When  she  had  ceased  playing  and  they  returned 
to  the  group  at  the  table,  Mr.  Richter  asked  Miss 
Mona  if  she  was  familiar  with  the  little  song  en 
titled,  "When  Dreams  Come  True." 

Without  reply,  Mona  arose  and,  going  to  the 
piano,  sat  down.  The  opening  chords  struck  softly  on 
the  ears  of  the  listeners,  and  when  she  reached  the 
chorus  how  glorious  came  the  rich,  full  contralto, 
"Some  day  in  the  future  years"! — oh!  the  depth 
of  feeling!  Richter  sits  spell-bound,  a  world  of  won 
der  in  his  glance  as  it  rests  upon  her,  and  silence 
reigns  supreme  as  the  words,  "Some  day  when 
dreams  come  true,"  rang  through  the  room  and 
terminated  the  song.  Miss  Goebel,  fascinated  as  if 
beyond  her  powers  of  self-control,  ran  to  Mona  and 
slipped  her  arms  around  her  neck.  The  feeling  en- 


434      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

•gendered  by  the  song  served  to  sweep  away  all  desire 
for  further  music,  and  the  company  gathered  to 
gether  around  Miss  Bessie's  table,  where  she  dis 
pensed  tea. 

The  announcement  at  1 1  o'clock  that  a  carriage 
had  arrived  and  was  in  waiting  for  Miss  Goebel 
served  to  break  up  the  little  gathering.  Mona  and 
Miss  Goebel  returned  to  the  parlor  with  their  street 
garb  complete  and  Mr.  Richter  accompanied  them  to 
the  street,  and  after  assisting  Miss  Goebel  into  the 
carriage  accompanied  Mona  to  her  parent's  home. 

We  will  leave  them  and  accompany  Miss  Goebel, 
whom  we  left  in  the  carriage.  There  is  no  trace  of 
sorrow  on  her  countenance,  but  instead  contentment 
and  pleasure  are  alike  manifest.  She  was  anxious 
to  arrive  at  her  home,  hoping  that  her  mother  was 
awaiting  her,  as  was  her  custom,  for  Mr.  Richter's 
magnanimous  treatment  of  her  brought  gladness  to 
her  heart  and  confirmed  the  estimate  she  had  placed 
upon  him  when  the  mother's  love  feared  humilia 
tion  and  perhaps  scandal  should  Mr.  Richter  not 
prove  to  be  the  honorable  man  and  gentleman  that 
tEllen  thought  him  to  be. 

Next  to  winning  his  love,  she  was  proud  to  know 
that  her  judgment  had  not  been  at  fault,  and  no 
feeling  of  jealousy  entered  her  heart  upon  learning 


THE  SURPRISE.  435 

that  his  heart  had  been  filled  with  devotion  to  that 
peerless  young  woman,  Mona  Davidge. 

Her  acquaintance  with  Mona  had  been  very  slight, 
and  that  which  she  had  heard  during  the  progress  of 
the  evening  just  closed  had  awakened  an  unusually 
high  opinion  of  her,  and  she  felt  no  shame  nor  hu 
miliation  from  knowing  that  Mr.  Richter  was  stead 
fast  in  his  love  for  one  of  Mona's  excellences  and 
had  only  courtesy  for  her. 

Upon  arriving  at  home  she  hurried  to  her 
mother's  sitting  room,  where  she  found  her  and  her 
father  engaged  in  a  game  of  backgammon,  which 
had  been  their  habit  and  source  of  amusement  for 
many  years.  Upon  kissing  her  parents  Mrs.  Goebel 
noticed  how  animated  and  happy  was  Ellen's  face, 
and  remarked  that  she  looked  as  though  the  evening 
had  been  a  happy  one. 

"Yes,  mother,  I  enjoyed  myself  very  much,  and 
have  a  pleasant  story  to  relate  to  you  to-morrow.  I 
feel  very  happy  over  my  evening's  experience." 

In  kissing  her  mother  good-night  she  placed  her 
arm  around  her  mother's  neck  and  gave  her  a  spas 
modic  hug,  which  she  always  did  when  she  was  more 
than  usually  happy.  She  entered  her  room  and  pre 
pared  for  bed.  When  she  had  replaced  her  day 
clothes  with  her  night  robe  and  let  fall  her  beautiful 


436   COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

locks  preparatory  to  putting  them  up  loosely  for  the 
night,  she  paused  and  became  engrossed  in  scanning 
her  features  critically.  She  felt  that  she  could  not 
be  charged  with  vanity  in  believing  that  she  was  the 
peer  of  Mona  in  appearance  and  features.  She 
wondered  if  Mr.  Richter  might  have  loved  her  if  it 
had  been  her  fortune  to  have  met  him  before  he  had 
met  Mona.  Her  musings  were  interrupted  by  the 
entrance  of  her  mother,  who  said,  "Well,  daughter, 
your  happy  face  and  promise  of  an  interesting  story 
to-morrow  awakened  my  curiosity,  and  I  have  come 
in  to  hear  it.  It  must  have  been  something  more  than 
usual  to  have  stirred  your  usually  quiet  disposition, 
and  I  have  come  in  to  hear  it  now  instead  of  waiting 
until  morning. 

"Be  prepared  for  a  great  surprise,  for  the  revela 
tion  is  extraordinary.  You  know  I  was  returning 
the  call  of  Miss  Duvall,  who  is  visiting  her  sister  and 
niece,  Bessie  Maynard.  Well,  while  I  was  playing 
the  piano  and  Miss  Davidge  was  at  my  side  turning 
the  music,  Mr.  Richter  entered  the  parlor.  He  is  the 
friend  of  a  Mr.  Guy,  a  lawyer  in  the  city  and  through 
that  friendship  he  got  acquainted  with  Bessie — and 
now  prepare  for  a  real  surprise. 

"Bessie  has  an  intimate  school  friend  named  Mona 
Davidge,  who  has  been  living  with  her  fiance,  Mr. 


THE  SURPRISE. 

Guy,  for  several  months,  while  she  was  investigating 
their  love  for  each  other.  She  believed  that  she 
loved  him  and  he  professed  ardent  love  for  her.  At 
Vassar  College  was  formed  a  Woman's  Emancipa 
tion  Society,  which  provides  for  their  occupancy  of 
the  same  house  by  two  persons  who  believe  they  are 
in  love,  and  who  want  to  test  the  love  by  a  study  of 
each  other." 

"Well,  Ellen,  I  hope  and  trust  that  you  will  not 
be  inoculated  with  the  Woman's  Emancipation  So 
ciety  serum  and  undertake  anything  outrageously  ab 
surd  like  that." 

"Don't  be  alarmed,  mother.  Miss  Davidge's  par 
ents  were  daily  visitors  at  their  rooms  and  so  was 
their  minister  and  his  wife  and  Mr.  Richter  was  a 
friend  of  the  gentleman  and  thus  he  met  Miss 
Davidge  and  fell  deeply  in  love  with  her.  She  is  a 
superior  woman  and  has  returned  to  her  parents 
and  severed  her  engagement  with  Mr.  Guy,  upon 
finding  that  she  did  not  love  him. 

When  I  met  Mr.  Richter  to-night  I  really  thought 
I  was  going  to  faint  and  think,  for  a  second  or  so, 
that  I  lost  consciousness.  I  overcame  the  feeling 
and  oh,  mother,  Mr.  Richter  acted  so  nobly.  He 
merely  bowed  and  he  must  have  seen  my  great 
trepidation,  for  he  immediately  turned  his  back  to 


438      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

me  and  interposed  his  body  between  Miss  Davidge 
and  myself,  which  gave  me  a  chance  to  recover  my 
scared  senses.  Afterwards,  when  we  were  at  the 
piano  together  he  showed  that  he  did  not  desire  an 
explanation  of  my  actions  and  said  the  secret  was 
locked  in  his  breast.  So,  you  see,  mother,  my  forner 
estimate  of  him  was  right.  He  is  certainly  one  of 
God's  noblemen." 

"Tell  me  of  the  Miss  Davidge,  of  whom  you  just 
spoke.  Did  she  live  with  a  man  in  an  apartment 
separate  and  apart  from  her  parents  ?" 

"Yes,  mother.  She  had  her  own  separate  room 
and  the  man  had  his." 

"And  what  do  her  friends  think  of  her?"  per 
sisted  her  mother. 

"Her  character  is  without  stain.  Her  friends 
look  upon  her  as  a  heroine  and  are  full  of  praise 
of  her  ethics.  Those  who  know  her  best  are  her 
most  strenuous  supporters.  No  one  knows  anything 
about  why  she  separated  from  Mr.  Guy  except  as 
they  surmise  that  she  found  that  she  could  not  love 
him.  She  has  not  spoken  even  to  her  intimate 
friend,  Bessie  Maynard,  of  her  reasons  for  the  sepa 
ration,  and  none  of  them  question  them. 

"Well,  daughter,  if  a  woman  can  emerge  from 
such  an  ordeal  without  having  her  character 


THE  SURPRISE.  439 

smirched  it  is  well  and  the  trial  would  be  very  wise 
if  it  saves  her  from  the  misfortune  of  a  failure  of  a 
happy  marriage.  Good  night." 

The  mother  kissed  her  and  left  the  room. 

It  was  but  a  few  days  after  the  pleasant  gather 
ing  at  Bessie's  when  Ralph's  and  Mona's  house 
hold  effects  were  to  be  auctioned  off,  and  Richter 
went  to  the  auction  rooms  on  Madison  Avenue 
early,  in  order  to  see  what  he  desired  to  purchase. 
After  looking  it  all  over,  he  informed  the  auctioneer 
that  he  wished  to  purchase  the  sitting-room  set  com 
plete,  including  the  rugs,  and  hoped  that  they  would 
be  so  offered.  That  functionary  assured  him  that 
he  would  first  offer  the  entire  set,  and  then  the  rugs. 

The  bidding  was  quite  animated,  especially  after 
the  auctioneer  said :  "Ladies  and  gentlemen,  this  fur 
niture  has  never  been  used  except  to  adorn  the  home 
of  a  refined  young  lady  of  worth  and  intelligence. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  one  of  our  leading  citizens; 
she  is  not  an  advocate  of  Trial  Marriages,  but  she 
is  a  leader  in  thought  of  Holier  marriage,  and  what 
marriage  ought  to  be,  not  what  it  is.  She  believes 
in  a  trial  of  hearts  before  embarking  on  the  eventful 
career  of  wife,  and  in  the  trial  of  hearts  she  leaves 
the  home  of  her  devoted  parents  and  resides  with 
the  man  whose  heart  and  principles  she  is  studying, 


440      COURTSHIP  UNDER  CONTRACT. 

and  while  her  own  heart  is  undergoing  close  scru 
tiny  to  the  end  that  she  shall  know  whether  it  is 
his  skill  as  the  leader  of  the  German  and  his  pleas 
ing  manner  that  have  pleased  her,  or  whether  her 
heart  is  sufficiently  engrossed  in  him,  that  she  is 
willing  to  take  him  for  better  or  worse  through  life. 

"Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  how  much  am  I  bid. 
You  see,  it  is  without  scratch  or  tarnish.  Bid  up,  bid 
up,  ladies.  Why,  the  romance  that  is  associated  with 
it  adds  fifty  per  cent,  to  its  value.  Give  me  a  bid." 

Fifty  dollars.  That  was  Richter's  bid,  but  was 
only  a  starter,  for  the  previously  hesitating  crowd 
got  warm  to  the  work,  and  it  was  finally  knocked 
down  to  him  at  $207.  It  had  cost  Mona  and  Ralph 
just  $190.  Richter  was  pained  and  sore  at  heart 
at  hearing  the  coarse  reference  made  to  Mona's  life 
with  Ralph,  and  he  feared  what  might  further  be 
said  by  the  auctioneer  in  his  zeal.  He  was  happy  in 
the  possession  of  the  sitting-room  suit  which  Mona 
had  selected,  bought,  and  cared  for,  and  its  associa 
tion  was  very  dear  to  him.  And  here  we  will  leave 
him  looking  into  the  future,  while  again  the  words 
of  her  song  float  back  in  a  sweet  contralto,  "Some 
day  in  the  future  years." 

THE  END, 


C2> 


MAR  0  3  1980 


DATE  DUE 


ocn 


3  months" 


GAYLORD 


PHINTIO  IN  U    *. 


PS350.9  A1J4C6 

Eager,  James  Henry  Love  11 

Courtship  under  contract 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  259  875    1 


1210003242367 


